


Meldtale

by AnimeBanshee



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Abused Frisk, Ass Sans, Dreams and Nightmares, EvilGaster, EvilToriel, F/F, F/M, Female Chara (Undertale), Female Frisk, Frans - Freeform, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Maturethemes, MuteFrisk, NiceFlowey, Protective Sans, SansHasNoFliter, Soul Bond, Suicide Attempt, UndertaleAu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-09-23 23:20:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 35,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9686681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnimeBanshee/pseuds/AnimeBanshee
Summary: Undertale AU that's all about soul bonding and Frisk's adventure to find her own personal light against her history of darkness.Frisk is a female and this is a Frans story.Mature content. Read at your own risk. Sans has no filter. Until maybe later. Maybe.I DO NOT OWN UNDERTALE. ALL RIGHTS AND CHARACTERS BELONG TO TOBY FOX.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Please see: https://www.wattpad.com/371837625-fusetale-author%27s-greeting  
> For Author's Greeting
> 
> Suicide attempt ahead. Skip to chapter 1 if this is a risk to you.

Fallen leaves crunched beneath my feet, echoing through the trees like soft music. The sound of wind was its only harmony, the occasional bird whistle reaching my ears from far off into the distance. A mere hollow sound, it was enough to let me know that I was here alone. That, and the fact that I stood on a mountain forgotten long ago, a mere side show to the hiking path that brought me here. 

It was a famous walking path, supposedly used by some great explorer that I couldn’t care to remember the name of, which was traveled daily. It crosses into the valley and over the much larger mountain which was miles away now, just a shadow against the retreating sun. I guess the explorer couldn’t have been bothered to travel over the smaller mountain on his journey. He honestly, in my opinion, missed out. This place was beautiful.

The trees and flowers were untouched by human hands, growing wild and free, petals shaking quietly in the breeze. For so late into the season, I was surprised there were so many left. I could spot a rose bush, clumps of daisies, and sprouts of lavender all in full bloom just from where I stood, standing vividly against the green foliage around them. It brought a fleeting smile to my face to see them brace themselves against the claws of cold. If I was capable I’m sure I would have felt the determination coming off them in waves. Hey, maybe I could. I was just to numb to notice.

Shaking my head, I tugged the sleeves of my cardigan over my hands, the usual cold of my skin seemingly sinking ever deeper into my bones. I was used to it, sure, but I still didn’t like the aches that came from it. Especially in my fingers. They were always so stiff. But anyway… I was getting close now, so I guess I didn’t have to worry about it for much longer. It’d all be over soon.

The landscape was growing ever more familiar and as I passed by a massive oak the hole stretched out in front of me. Like a gaping mouth, dark and carnivorous, it beckoned me forward till I stood on the edge, staring down into the gloom. I could just make out the craggy walls and the vines that snaked down the cliff face and twisted among the rocks and dirt. I couldn’t see the bottom at all.

Finally, standing here at the top, I stopped to really think. Did I really want this? I thought I’d be more… afraid or something, but instead I just felt tired. When you haven’t slept in over a month, decently at least, and you woke up only to be worked and beaten to the bone every night… It does that to a person. Then you have the fact that this was the moment where somebody should have been telling me, “Stop, you have people who really care about you. They’ll miss you.” 

I knew for a fact, though, that nobody would miss me. An orphan, whose foster parents only took her in so the husband would stop beating the wife. They didn’t let me go to school, I was ‘taught’ at home, and there were no other kids around our house since we lived in the literal middle of nowhere. I had barely spoken to another individual, outside of my so-called ‘family’ since I was twelve. I had barely talked at all after I had turned fourteen. Now I was eighteen, alone, and when I was gone they’d probably just write me off as one out of a million runaways. Nothing more, and nothing less. 

Sighing, I closed my eyes, forcing my thoughts away. They only tore at my insides anyways. I was hallowed enough as it was. Stepping forward slowly, I didn’t have to look to know that there was nothing beneath my foot. It was like the void had a presence about it that grabbed me, an icy claw around my ankle, and suddenly I was falling, my hair and clothes whipping about in the wind. I did not scream. Not even when my shoulder connected with something hard and a crack reverberated in my ears.

I didn’t even have time to process it really. My body crashed into the ground, fiery pain shooting through every muscle, every shattered bone, every torn piece of skin. And the last thing I saw was the sunlight, so far above me, blocked out by something I could not register.


	2. Between the Veil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Painful awakening.

I was being moved and God have mercy… It was like I was engulfed in a never-ending sea of pain. Every nerve was on fire, every sense I had filled to the brim with agony I never could have imagined. I tried to scream, but I couldn’t even open my mouth, so the only thing that come out was a whimper. How was I even still alive?

            Or was this Hell? Payment for what I’d done?

“H-Hold on… Just hold on, o-okay? I’m going to fix you…I-I swear…” The voice was small, boyish, and shrill. But mostly surprising. I really didn’t believe they consoled you in Hell, especially with words as gentle as those. They broke through the haze in my mind like a knife, cutting past the roaring in my ears and worming it’s way into my thoughts. It brought with it a warmth I hadn’t known before, something so soft that I wasn’t even sure if it had existed until now.

The pain didn’t vanish, but my eyes did open just slightly. A rocky ceiling faded in and out of focus, stalagmites and stalactites stabbing themselves into the sides of my vision ever so often. There was no breeze and the air, from what I could tell, was stale and warm. I was swinging, my body drifting carefully back and forth as I was moved, as though whoever held me was trying to keep me from moving around too much. I realized I couldn’t feel anyone’s arms around me, though. It was as if I were laying on something. But, how did anyone even find me? Who would’ve been at the bottom of a deep hole?

Something brushed against my face and I tried to jerk away, unable, and a yelp tore itself from my throat. Whatever it was instantly retracted. “S-Sorry!” That voice really didn’t sound human. It even sounded like a child. I attempted to move my head, finding enough strength in my arms to push myself up a little, moving my eyes everywhere and anywhere to try and see who was carrying me. “Wait! Don’t mo-!”

I nearly screamed as a sharp pang went through my spine and suddenly I couldn’t breathe. I fell back into my original position, but this didn’t help, the agony only increasing. It felt like something was digging a hole inside of me.

Hot tears rushed down my face and I coughed, a red liquid catching my eye as little drops were thrown into the air. Fear gripped my heart as I tasted something metallic. The little voice came back, “Oh… Oh no… Come on, come on… YES!” There was the sound of a door swinging open and banging against something, hard. The ceiling went from rock to… plaster?

I was sat down on something soft before I could really register what this meant. It felt like pillows, my body sinking into whatever it was. I would’ve thought it comfortable if I wasn’t in this situation. A shadow moved above me, distracting me from my frantic heart beat and the rapidly growing, heavy feeling in my chest. The rest of my body was already numb. I couldn’t move anything past my waist, and even the limbs above that refused to cooperate completely. I think my fingers twitched, but otherwise that was all.

“Where… Where is it?! Come… Damn… Not here…” The voice was fading in and out, but I thought I heard a shout and then something thrust itself into my face. Pale orange, silky, petals. Soft blue eyes and a small mouth, curled into a scared, grim frown. I recognized it immediately. I knew it was a sunflower, but… was it really?

An unexpected tingle made me jump and abruptly something started to glow light yellow, little sparks of light floating through the air like the dust you could see when looking in a beam of sunlight. Heaviness pulled at the back of my mind and my eyelids dropped. When they opened again, I could barely see at all.

The flower’s face was the only thing I could make out. And it was the last thing I saw as I fell into the gloom that awaited me like an old friend, the pain floating away behind me as I departed.

 


	3. Discoveries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for a POV switch! SANSY.
> 
> Check out this chapter image created by Long Live The Legs on Amino! She won the first ever Meldtale contest!  
> https://scarlettrosella.tumblr.com/post/159128559854/the-winner-of-the-first-meldtale-contest#

            

I pushed open the large door, light and snow falling onto the dirty, carpeted floor, illuminating the long hall. Shadows greeted me, old photographs lying torn on the ground inside of their shattered frames. Scorch marks blazed against the walls, black sharks eating away at the pale-yellow wall paper underneath which was already starting to fade and become white.  Everything was aging. Waltzing inside, I heard the door slam shut behind me, darkness swallowing everything. The sounds of my steps were muffled, suffocated by the heavy, furry rug. A single Froggit hopped away, startled or frightened I didn’t know, nor did I care. He disappeared into a crack in the wall.

            The hallway was the same as always, empty except for the cobwebs that were barely hanging onto the corners and ceiling. The spiders were nowhere to be seen. My eye flashed purple and one of the unused spider webs spiraled to the ground, cleanly cut. Dust trickled after it and I wrinkled my non-existent nose. Someone really needs to clean up in here. Perhaps Flower-boy could become the new house cleaner? That way I wouldn’t need to spend time making him _bite the dust_. I chuckled at my joke, even though it was not one of my best. I didn’t have a lot of personal time to focus on my _humerus_ side.

            “heh.” That one was a little better.

            The stairs creaked under my feet as I reached them and started to climb. These were hard wood, but their old shine had faded from the lack of use and now they looked as though they could break any second. I knew they wouldn’t, though. The builders had made this place far to sturdy. The Queen and King were way to protective of their children to leave anything to risk. Well, at least they use to be. There wasn’t anyone to protect anymore.

            I shook my head to clear it, a rattling sound echoing in the silence. _Focus Sans. You’re here to check on the weed, not to reminisce._ I shoved my hands in my hoodie pockets, glancing around as I got to the top of the steps. The walls up here were significantly worse than the ones by the Snowden door. Most of the wallpaper had been burnt off, little scraps of what remained peeling up and curling in on itself. Scorch marks lined the hardwood floor like the skid marks described in the human novels. The front door was open, the speckled brown paint flaking off ever so slightly. All of this was a horrible example of what grief could do to a _hot-headed_ goat mom.

            Okay, that one wasn’t quite so funny. I really needed to put in some practice time.

             With a heavy, irritated sigh I headed across the empty foyer, glancing out into the Ruins. The vine-covered walls and ground were the same as always, the dark brown bricks blending into the dirt above, roots hanging down just within reach. But what caught my eye was a dark red puddle that had gathered just outside the mansion door. Crouching down, I dipped my fingers in it, bringing them out to rub the tips of my phalanges together. Blood, huh. Looking behind me, I spotted smaller, almost invisible drops against the stained floor. Somebody was having a party without me.

            Straightening up, I casually strolled towards the living room, the entry way clear since the door had long since been _blown_ of its hinges. My smile grew larger. Grabbing the wall, I poked my head into the room, planning on leaning against the door frame and giving my typical greeting. Instead my eyes widened and I froze.

The little Sunflower was panicking, his vines out and tending to the bleeding _human_ who was laying on the couch, a red puddle forming beneath her body. “Okay… Okay, so I j-just need to place this here… And wrap this up… and- Oh come on! I can’t heal her by myself!” I could only see her face clearly from the distance I was at, but my sockets still narrowed, rage making me clench my teeth together.

“hey, pal. you know, i was kind enough to come and check up on you. make sure you had laid down your _roots_ somewhere nice. but instead,” I ground out the next few words from between my smiling grin, voice soft but daring him to deny, paying no mind to the now trembling flower in front of me, “i find you committing treason.”

He hadn’t even turned to look at me when his vines suddenly lashed out, long red spikes growing out along the length of them, but I raised my hand and my bones turned purple. The vines froze, suspended in space as I approached. Flower-Boy was the same, but his face had turned ugly and twisted, sharp teeth replacing his usually gentle grin. “Leave her alone. She’s hurt. Dying. She won’t last long enough for you to take her to Gas-!” His soul, a small white heart, appeared in front of his stem and it was flooded with violet. I yanked him towards me, not minding the small yelp he released as I squeezed his soul with my magic.

“i suggest you keep your little mouth shut. **i don’t want to have to do some weeding.** ” He glared at me, but eventually he sagged in my grasp, his leaves wilting. “Good boy.” I left him floating there, eye flaring, as I stepped around him and headed towards the couch. I whistled as I got closer to the human. She really was quite mangled.

Her legs were twisted at unusual angles, blood trickling, more like pouring, from large gashes along her torso and left arm. I’m pretty sure I could see some bone sticking out of her skin along her right leg, bloody and covered in small pieces of torn flesh. Her head was laying limply to the side, revealing a long scar across her neck. Flower-Boy really had been trying to heal her, but there was no healing this. At least with regular magic. I didn’t have to be a doctor to see that.

“Her lung…” Flowey’s voice startled me, but I didn’t show it, turning just a little so that he could see that my pupils had vanished.

“ **i thought I told you to be quiet.** but if you really wanna doubt me then go ahead and finish **bud.** ” I watched in slight enjoyment as terror and bravery clashed against the flower’s face. Bravery won out, against my bets.

“Her ribs are broken. One of them… h-has punctured her lung.” My head tilted with the new information, my smile turning down a bit as I returned my gaze to the human. This really was an issue. If she had a punctured lung, she probably wouldn’t survive me teleporting her to the Hotlands lab. She definitely wouldn’t survive long enough for me to carry her there. And if Papyrus saw her like this…

“oh, fuck it.” I summoned her soul, meeting no resistance as a weak red light blossomed in her chest. The heart slid through her skin and clothes, barely managing to float as it was covered from top to bottom with cracks. The entire surface was coated in them, no side left untouched. My eyes widened in, dare I say, fear.

“my god… how are you even alive?” My voice was low in disbelief. I had never seen anything like this. Apparently neither had Flowey because his cries had suddenly died and I didn’t have to check to see if he was staring. Everyone knew that a single crack was enough to kill. This human had to hold the new record for being able to hold their soul together. I felt a pang in my chest.

Violently shaking my head, I growled. I was **not** feeling bad for this… thing. My own soul appeared in front of me, a pale white or grey color depending on the way you looked at it, and I grabbed ahold of it and the human’s. I fought the urge to squeeze it, to crush it and be done with her. We needed this soul. It was the last one. After she was taken we could be free once more. Papyrus could be free.

That’s what I told myself as I shoved our souls together, screaming as a bright pain exploded in my chest as I forced the bond. My magic flickered as sparks flew from my hands, purple and red mixing in a wonder of colors I couldn’t keep track of. Flowey was yelling his little voice hoarse, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. There was a buzzing in my ears that was growing louder by the second, till it was just a single, shrill shriek. And I realized it was the girl.

She was tossing and turning, her eyes open but rolling back into her head as she thrashed about, nearly falling off the couch, but the next thing I knew Flowey had taken up the space in front of me, holding her down as best he could. When had he gotten loose? The thought was short lived, fleeting against the haziness building in my mind as the pain increased then died suddenly, leaving me to stumble backwards into the wall and slid to the floor. Breathing heavily, I was barely aware of our souls parting, of mine drifting back down to slide back beneath my shirt, now split neatly in half with one side white and one red.

“w-well damn… that hurt a lot more than I thought it would.” I chuckled low in my throat and Flower-Boy turned on me with a vicious hiss.

“That’s because you FORCED a soul bond! It could have killed you both! Are you an idiot?!”

“i’m just a _bone-ified_ , _hardheaded_ , skeleton, pal. now,” putting my hands on my knees, I pushed myself up and back onto my feet. “i’ll be taking the human to dr. g.”

“NO! They haven’t even fully healed yet! You can’t-!” I pushed him out of the way using what little magic I had left, but even the small amount sent me reeling and I almost fell, having to catch myself on the arm of the couch. Up close, I finally had to look closely at the human, not really bothering to take in their appearance or anything up to this point.

            She had dark brown hair that was matted with blood and very pale skin that stood out starkly against the dark purple cardigan that was shredded along the sleeves. She wore a pair of black leggings that also had a multitude of holes in them, presumably from their fall into the hole. On one of her feet there was a simple, black, slip-on shoe that had no laces, the other one missing and revealing a foot that was bruised and battered, the skin a mixture of purple and black. She was still unconscious.

            However, as I watched with my tired eyes, her bones started to reset themselves, her legs returning to their normal shapes. I could hear them going back into place, the bone shards cutting skin which would have to heal again in a few minutes. I studied her for a few minutes, something less than pity forming in my gut. I reached out a hand to grab her shoulder before everything went dark.

*****

            _I couldn’t see. Fear pulsed through my veins, hot like lava, and I reeled back as something struck my face hard, sending me crashing into something pointy, before I met the floor where my head cracked against the ground. My back ached where it had connected with what felt like the side of a table and for a minute I couldn’t move, stars swirling in my vision._

_“You bitch… You’ll learn to keep your mouth shut.”_

_There was a high-pitched scream, one that came from my mouth, but wasn’t mine all the same._

*****

            I was sucked out of my mind as quickly as I had been dragged in. Stomach twisting, I felt what little I had had for lunch come back up into my throat. Closing my eyes, I fought to push it back down. _What…was that?_

            The terror. The totally overwhelming, utterly consuming fright. My bones were like ice, the cold sinking into the very depths of my soul, and before I could stop and think, I was gone. I landed in the snow outside the Snowden door, the cool wind like a slap to the face as I took in deep breaths, not actually taking in any air, but doing so all the same.


	4. A Flower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk's POV!!!
> 
> Her dialogue is in bold because she speaks with her hands at first.
> 
> Just a little bit of explaining and introductions!
> 
> Please ask any questions in the comments!

I was falling for what seemed the one hundredth time. Wind tore at my hair and skin. Sickening crunches echoed in my ears as every rock hit me on the way down, every bone breaking and snapping at the contact. Then I'd hit the ground. Feel the hard, cold stone beneath me for just a split second.

But this time, instead of starting all over again, the darkness swallowed me and I wasn't **me** anymore. It was like wearing someone else's shoes. I didn't belong. Didn't quite fit.

*****

_Trees and snow filled my vision, the light a shadowy imitation of dusk. I tried to move first and found that I couldn't. I simply stared ahead, at a tall figure who was standing wirily over a smaller child who was laying in the snow. The taller one hugged himself, taking a single, large step back. Something pulled in my chest, my soul. I wanted to reach out to him, that man. My father. Ask him why he was doing this._

_My head hurt._

_I was frozen, watching as he took another step away. Followed by another. The child started to push themselves up, going after the older one with their arms outstretched._ _"Daddy..."_ _Before I could fully register it, I held out my hand, a strong sense of magic flooding the area. The boy, I could make out his bulkier form now, went motionless, his body gaining a violet hue around the edges._

_"Papyrus no."_ _My mouth moved without my consent. It was shaky, uneven, and sounded so much like a small child. My body was trembling and I'm sure I was crying, hot tears dripping down my cheeks._

_"But Sans..."_

_"NO PAPYRUS."_ _The younger child flinched and stopped talking, his loud voice dying away in the breeze. I hadn't meant to scare him, I could feel it, but he needed to hold still. I couldn't lose him too. A sob build up in my throat at the fleeting thought._

_We watched as the man strode away, disappearing into the distance like a phantom and bringing with him a ferocious wind that brought with it a biting cold. Snow swirled down in sheets, almost but not completely blocking out the sight of the child running towards me, the tingling in my body gone and freeing him from his momentary prison. A swell of relief pumped through me. He didn't go after him._

_I fell to my knees, small arms wrapping around my shoulders. Questions pulled at my mind as I tried to focus, my vision suddenly fuzzy but still able to make out the thin, white fingers that nearly blended into the powder under me. They were bones. I felt a slight twinge of fear, my own this time. My pants were soaking through, ice sinking into my bones. I could hear Papyrus crying.  Calling out to me._

_I barely registered my last thought as I was pulled into the darkness._

_Who is Sans?_

*****

I shot up, barely registering a flimsy blanket falling from my shoulders, and a searing pain laced through my body. Yelping, I struggled between falling back and pushing myself up all the way. The decision was made for me, though, something heavy pushing gently against my chest and lowering me into the cushions. A small voice spoke in my ear.

"You shouldn't move yet. You're gonna be sore for a while." It was a young voice, soft and pleading, but also slightly scratchy like he hadn't talked for a while. I turned my head to say something, ask him why, but my words died in my throat. The talking sunflower. I'd forgotten about that. We stared at each other for a long time and the flower just watched me and waited. He didn't speak again.

Up close, when I wasn't in the process of dying at least, he was actually kind of... cute? Was that the right word? I think it was. His petals were a dim yellowish orange, looking to be silky to the touch, and his eyes were a compassionate, deep blue. He had a mouth that was turned down, surprisingly in concern and expectance.

When I didn't say anything, he finally broke our gazes and spoke again, his head bowing, "Sorry... am I scaring you?" I shook my head quickly. I wouldn't say scared, more like shocked. He nodded anyway, "Well, it's just that you're a human and I'm... a monster. So I'd understand-" I placed my hand over his mouth and shook my head again. His eyes widened but he didn't continue. When I removed my hand, a small smile appeared on his lips and he looked to straightened up a bit.

"You're really weird. Most of the other humans who have fallen have been really freaked when they saw me." I offer a gentle smile and reach out a hesitant hand to stroke one of his petals. He leans into my touch happily. He really was quite sleek. After a moment, he pulled away and studied me, surprised confusion on his face. His eyes seemed to sparkle and I giggled. He really was adorable.

I pointed at him, and went trough the familiar motions of asking what his name was, my hand motions smooth. His eyebrows- what were his eyebrows even made of?- raised. I felt a little pang in my chest. He couldn't understand me, which meant I'd have to talk, and I wasn't quite sure I could do that yet. Then he startled me again, "My name's Flowey, Flowey the Flower. You can't talk? I used to have a friend who spoke with their hands when I was younger. That's why I could read what you were saying." He answered the question that must've been in my eyes.

A cool breeze blew through the room and I shivered a little, pulling the small blanket back onto my shoulders with a wince. Thankfully, the pain had diminished greatly, just small achy pains echoing through my stiff body. It felt like I'd slept wrong or something, but that definitely wasn't the case. Which brought several more questions to mind, the main one being: how the heck was I still alive? But Flowey must’ve noticed my shiver because he started towards the door, his roots acting as legs to move him across the floor. I blinked and watched, enraptured.

“Sorry about the breeze, but no one’s lived in this house but me, and I only need a small blanket to get by. I’ll go see if I can find something heavier. Wait here.” He only looked back at me once before vanishing into the hallway. I only sat there before bringing a hand up to rub my face. _This was weird… dream weird. But if I were in a dream then I would’ve woken up by now, right?_ There were those stories about a monster race living on the surface a long time ago, before they were sealed away because of their violent tendencies, but I thought they were just that. Stories to frighten children so they’d behave. My parents used them a lot for that purpose.

I closed my eyes to chase away my thoughts. I didn’t want to think about them right now. I was safe, I think, and despite the reason I came here, I was curious. Maybe I could afford to stay for a little while. I could always try again later. Flowey seemed nice enough, so maybe he’d let me stay here for the time being. I mean, monsters were real! How cool was that! It was like my very own story book experience! And if they were all like Flowey, maybe they’d like me? I pushed the thought away instantly.

“Hey, I found a fuzzy blanket in one of the other rooms!” I jumped at Flowey’s shrill voice. He was back, a black blanket draped over one of his vines. He carefully placed it around my shoulders and I smiled at the softness.

**“Thank you.”**

“No problem. So, I guess you don’t know how monsters act, huh?” I shook my head. “Okay, so how about I show you the ropes?”

 **“Okay. I’d like that if you wouldn’t mind.”** He smiled and backed up a bit, getting right in front of the window and putting a decent amount of space between us.

“Of course, I don’t mind. So, to start off, this is your soul,” There was a distantly familiar feeling of something warm slipping through the skin of my chest, my mind going fuzzy for a moment as my eyes slipped in and out of focus. Red-violet filled my vision and my mouth dropped slightly. What… What happened?! My soul wasn’t…it looked as if… but that was impossible. Who could have soul-bonded with me?!

My panic must’ve shown on my face because Flowey bowed his head, “I’m sorry... That’s my fault-”

My hands moved frantically, **“You soul-bonded with me?!”** His face became very confused, but he shook his head, a small blue heart appearing in front of his chest.  

“No, a skeleton who lives in Snowden did, but how did you know about soul-bonding?” I still couldn’t believe it, the thought of anyone entwining their soul with mine was impossible, let alone somebody I didn’t even know. A skeleton no less! _But then again…_ My mind flashed back to my dream. The small child skeleton that could move and talk. The boney fingers that had seemed to belong to me. That would explain that.

I was still staring at the floating red and violet heart as I ‘spoke’ again, **“The people on the surface do it. Soul-bond. But up there you need to really know the other person before you could do it. You weren’t able to just bond with someone you didn’t know.”** Flowey nodded sadly.

“That’s the way it is down here, but that skeleton, Sans, he just waltzed in here and did it to save you. You were bleeding so much…” I zoned out as he continued. _Sans._ Sans from the dream? It was all making much more sense now. I remembered reading once that people who soul-bonded could share memories and feelings with their partner. It had said that the experiences and flashbacks would be powerful enough to put you in your partner’s place and have you live through everything to the exact detail. Everything would be the same. That meant, if I was seeing Sans’ memories, then he was seeing mine.

My stomach dropped.

“Hey!” I jerked as Flowey’s voice skyrocketed suddenly. He immediately apologized, but his face was worried, “You weren’t listening. Are you okay?” I barely had the energy to nod and he seemed to know what was going through my head. “I know it must be weird, with him intruding on you like that. I tried to stop him, but he wanted to take you to his father, and when it comes to the Doctor, Sans doesn’t play around.” My eyebrows drew together, but he only shook his head.

“The Doctor works for Asgore, the king of monsters. He’s the one who… takes the souls of the humans who fall.” My eyes narrowed and he rushed to finish, “We need seven human souls to break the barrier that traps us here. Gas- I mean the Doctor already has six, so when Sans saw you all he thought about was getting you to him. So, he forced a soul-bond and that’s what saved you.”

**“But, you can’t just-!”**

“I understand that, but he did. I don’t know how either of your souls survived, but they did. It must’ve done something to him, though, cause as soon as it was over he ran off like something was chasing him.” I bit my lip, but allowed the room to go silent.

_How much had he seen already?_

After a long minute, Flowey broke the rather awkward silence, “So… your soul. This is what it’d look like after a monster challenges you.”

I looked up at him blurrily and blankly, **“Challenges?”**

“Yeah, monsters down here aren’t exactly… the friendliest towards humans. They locked us up and threw away the key, so…” He must’ve caught the look on my face because he waves his leaves around like they were hands, “Sorry! I know you didn’t have a say in it, but most monsters won’t see it that way. On the bright-side, not many of the ones who fought in the war are alive anymore, so not many know what a human looks like.” I thought about that for a second before nodding. Made enough sense. The war would have had to happen a while ago for humans to just pass off an entire race as a bedtime story.

“Anyways, when a monster challenges you, you’ll have a few options. You can either fight, act, use an item, or spare. Acting and sparing go hand-in-hand. You can never spare right away, so you have to act to get to the point where you can spare.” He pauses, looking to me to see if he needed to slow down a bit, but I gestured that he could continue. “If you were to fight, you would diminish a monsters HP or HOPE. If their HP reaches zero, they die and you earn EXP and LV, which makes your soul a bit stronger and raises your own HP.”

Eyes wide, I scoff, **“That’s terrible!”** My comment seemed to make him relax, though.

“I’m glad you see it that way.” He stopped for a minute before realization exploded across his features, “Oh! I should probably show you your HP.” A small bar materialized in front of my chest and I jumped. “Here you are.” His words were stated proudly and I shot him a grateful look as I stared at the bar. Off to the side it read: 20/20, LV 1. I guess I was the lowest level then. My heart swelled with relief.

“Okay, so now that is cleared out of the way, let’s practice a little now. What do you say? Do your injuries still hurt?” I shrugged before blinking in surprise. I could only feel the slightest of twinges in my lower back and I had the familiar urge in my legs to get up and walk around.

I returned my gaze to Flowey, **“I actually feel a lot better, but how?”** He appeared to understand my rambling fingers. He sagged a little in relief.

“Thank Asgore for that. I can only assume it had to do with the soul-bond. As you may know, when you’re soul-bonded with someone it increases your rate of healing and health and stuff like that, though…” He stopped and studied my still visible soul. “It doesn’t seem like it could heal those cracks.” I shivered and slowly nodded, hiding my face behind my long brown hair. I felt myself stiffen.

But he didn’t ask anything about them, just moving on quickly, “Well then, since you’re feeling better, why don’t we head outside? There’s not enough space in the house.” I swung my legs over the side of the couch in response and watched as my soul slowly disappeared into my shirt, the warm, fuzzy feeling returning. It nearly made me smile.

I was a little wobbly as I got to my feet, but Flowey approached and put a vine around my waist, holding me up for a moment. He waited until I patted him before releasing me and I offered him my arm, watching gently as he careful crawled up my skin and came to rest on my shoulder. “Okay, so you just go out of this room and there’ll be a door that goes outside. Once we get out there we can practice for a bit.” I nod and start to move forward, letting my eyes travel over the dusty, sheet-covered furniture. There was an old fireplace next to the door, empty except for a few grey ashes, and what looked to be a table and chairs in the far corner of the room. The house seemed otherwise abandoned.

Entering the hallway, I had to stop. There were scorch marks everywhere, all stemming from a black circle in the center of the hall. The wallpaper was burnt and dusty, a strange combination of yellow, grey, and black. It also was curling in on itself in several places. I felt Flowey poke my face and I glanced at him. He wasn’t looking at me, but I could just make out the tense and sad expression on his face. I swiftly crossed to the opened door where I could just make out some sort of greenery.

Once outside he relaxed instantly and seemed no different from before. Thank God. We walked for a while, till the house was off in the distance, barely in sight. My surroundings weren’t all that intriguing, just brown brick walls and hanging vines and roots. I had the slight fear that the ceiling would give way any second, but when Flowey showed no signs of worry I tried to calm myself and managed to forget about it rather quickly. Especially when a very large, green creature hopped straight into my path and right up to my feet. I stumbled back a little bit and stared at what appeared to be an extremely big…frog?

Its head was a dark blue, nearly black with just a little blue sprinkled in, but as you went down it’s body it got increasing lighter until it was the exact opposite, white with a little blue. It had yellow eyes that were striped that followed the same shading pattern. On its head was a small hat, one like the one Peter Pan wore in _Neverland_. My heart practically fluttered at the sheer cuteness of it.

Not a moment later, the tingly feeling returned and my soul returned, floating in front of me. Four squares materialized below it. Fight, Act, Item, and Mercy. I chewed on my lip while Flowey just sighed in my ear. “Great. I wanted to start off really easy but hey, why not start off with a Froggit?”

 **“Is this… Froggit really that powerful?”** I felt him shake his head, some of his petals brushing against my face.

“No, but it can attack, so you’re going to have to dodge. But you do get to go first.” I nodded. Okay, let’s be careful then. My hand immediately went to the Act button. It opened to a small window: Chat, Flirt, Pet, or Compliment. I chewed on my lip as I thought for a moment before I clicked Compliment and moved my hands, hoping he’d understand.

**“You look really adorable. I like your hat.”**

The Froggit tilted its head, but I saw the color of his cheeks turn darker. _Was it…blushing? Oh, my God, that’s brilliant._ “Good-job! Now watch it, it’s going to attack now.” I moved slowly, getting into a ready position, my knees bent. Little blue flies appeared around the Froggit and they buzzed towards me, slowly but steadily. I moved out of the way easily, none of the flies even grazing me.

After they were all gone the four buttons appeared again. My hand went to Mercy this time without having to think about it, my finger clicking Spare. With that, the Froggit hopped away, disappearing down the corridor. I giggled quietly. _That was kinda fun!_

“Good job! You did great! Are you sure humans don’t do this, um…” I turned to look at him as his voice trailed off. His cheeks were red and he seemed embarrassed, “I can’t believe I did this but… I haven’t a clue what your name is.” I blinked in surprise before chuckling.

 **“My name’s Frisk. It’s nice to meet you Flowey.”** He nuzzled me, catching me off guard and making me freeze before I smiled gently. Slowly, my hand came up to stroke his petals.

Yeah, I think I could stick around for a bit.


	5. What is Going On?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans' POV.  
> He's being a stalker XD.

            My gaze was locked on the girl as she moved through the ruins, my body successfully hidden behind a crumbling pillar. I had to fight down the rush of magic that threatened to break free, my eye sparking. _How dare she walk around like she owned the place._ And then you had the flower, who was riding on her shoulder like a prized pet parrot, speaking softly into her ear. I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but it couldn’t be good.

            Of course, Flower-boy had never shown any specific, aggressive behavior, but no one knew where he came from. He just appeared one day, out of the blue, and he wouldn’t say who he was or even what he was. There were no other monsters like him and the Echo flowers, I besides the talking part, didn’t have anything in common with him. He was an interesting case, one that I would’ve taken to my father if he hadn’t reminded me of Papyrus so much.

            I almost flinched at the thought of my dad, my mind trailing. That was the real reason I was here, hiding like some sort of stalker instead of just taking her down now. Added to the fact that we needed her soul. Otherwise, she would’ve been dead the moment I saw her. One can’t be picky though, and as long as she didn’t leave the Ruins she’d be fine. Although, if part of the ceiling caved in and crushed her, I wouldn’t be caught complaining.

            My attention was drawn back to the girl, who had suddenly stopped. I was unable to spot what had come in her way, the stone pillar blocking my view, but I had a good guess what it was, considering she was staring at the ground. The only monster, which lived in the Ruins, that didn’t fly and was short enough for her to look down at them was a Froggit. I moved around, bringing the whole scene into sight, and I was proven correct.

            The small, blue frog was simply staring at the human, poor thing probably didn’t even know what he was looking at, and he didn’t start hopping away like he normally would. An uncomfortable feeling started in my gut as I realized he had no intention to, which only increased as the girl’s soul was pulled from her chest. The Froggit’s soul mirrored her’s, except for the fact that it was all a pale yellow and not a red-violet agglomeration. I could have gagged at the sight. Why I ever chose to save her, I don’t know, but it made me sick to know I was being tainted like that.

            Everything seemed to stall as the human started to move her hand, the appendage floating back and forth above the buttons which had appeared in front of her. My teeth clenched together, grinding against one another as an inner debate started inside my mind. I felt it in my gut, felt the answer she was going to choose, in our combined souls. She was going to fight, but I couldn’t just kill her without proof, right? But was a Froggit’s life worth it? It may not be a necessarily smart monster, or exactly helpful creature, but it was a monster life none-the-less.

            I didn’t have a chance to act anyway, my ‘breathing’ coming to a halt as she finally pressed down on one of the actions. My eyes narrowed as I realized what she had chosen. I was wrong. She had chosen Act, her hands moving in the familiar motions of sign language. **“You look really adorable. I like your hat.”**

            _What the hell was that?_ Needless to say, I hadn’t expected her to show such…mercy? No, she still could change her tune. And what was with the sign language? She couldn’t talk? My thoughts flashed back to the memory that had been haunting me since I’d first soul-bonded with her. Somehow, I didn’t think that was the case.

            “Good-job! Now watch it, it’s going to attack now.” Flowey’s voice was nearly shrill in excitement, the sound extremely annoying all of a sudden. The Froggit didn’t bother to move as it materialized it’s magic, the glowing, blue flies shooting forward as fast as they could go. I watched, my brows raising slightly. The human’s body moved with ease, so I guess she wasn’t feeling those broken bones anymore, not to mention the fact that she dodged with practiced ease. Her motions were smooth and quick, despite being maybe the slightest bit stiff. To be honest, I hadn’t expected her to heal so swiftly. Even if we did soul-bond I didn’t think it’d work at all, let alone this well.

            The Froggit’s attack didn’t last as I hoped it would, the same twisting starting back up in my stomach as the magic flies disappeared. I needn’t have worried, though. For, not a second after it was done, the human hit Spare and the Froggit hopped away without a single scratch. I almost felt numb. It wasn’t possible. It wasn’t possible for a human to show compassion. Not after what they had done.

            But the girl didn’t go after the monster, just watching as it vanished down the corridor before turning back towards the distant mansion, a smile barely apparent on her face. I wasn’t able to look away at first. She didn’t attack. It didn’t seem real.

            My hands were shaking as I finally sealed my eyes shut and moved away. If I could breath for real, then I was fairly certain I would be hyperventilating or passing out from lack of air by now. Was it shock, I couldn’t tell, but it sure felt like it. I guess it made it easy for my control to slip, because a sudden voice echoed in my ears, booming inside my skull.

*****

_“You have five seconds to come out! If I get to five, you’ll wish I’d never graced you with my house! You live here and you’ll behave as such! One!”_

_The terror that filled my heart made me freeze. Suddenly, my lungs were screaming._

_“Two!”_

           Help.

_“Three!”_

           Please, help me!

_“Four…!”_

           But nobody came.

_“There you are-!” Something grabbed my hair and I was yanked forward._

*****

         
Gasping, my hand shot out as though to push whoever it was away. Bones took shape in the air, glowing purple, before shooting forward and smashing into the wall. A loud shattering noise came with it, startling a few bugs and blowing the dust into the air. Dirt rained down from the ceiling. I felt like I was on fire, my magic on a rampage.

       What the hell was going on?! Without thinking, I turned and started to storm towards the mansion, fury and residual pain shooting through my skull. I was going to get to the bottom of this, even if it meant dragging the human to my father and taking our souls apart myself.


	6. A Not-So-Great Official Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk's POV.
> 
> A not-so-great offical meeting.

I practically skipped back to the house, a grin starting to grow on my face. Flowey hummed a small tune in my ear, my happiness becoming contagious. It almost made me giggle, how one single, act of mercy could cause my problems to disappear. Hearing Flowey praise me was one of the best times of my life, especially when added to the fact that the Froggit and I both escaped without a single injury. It felt like I was making up for lost time or something.

"Hey Frisk," I turned my head to look at him, "When we get back to the house do you want me to show you around? I could also probably find you some new clothes, to uh... You know. Replace your torn ones." I blinked before moving my eyes to gaze down at myself. I hadn't realized just how bad I looked.

My leggings were in shreds, patches of skin showing every now and then, but thankfully they weren't in any revealing places. As for my cardigan, I was surprised it was even wearable. Most of the sleeves were gone and a huge piece of the middle was swinging in the air as I walked, barely hanging on by a thread. Considering my clothes were almost all black, except for the cardigan, it was difficult to see the darker patches where blood had soaked through, but I could make them out fairly well just because I knew what it was supposed to look like. My tank top wasn't that bad, luckily, just a large tear along the bottom right side.

I brought my eyes back up to meet his, a timid grin on my face. "If you wouldn't mind."

He shook his head, enthusiastic, "No, I don't mind at all! I mean, you deserve a treat after what you've went through." My eyes widened and I felt my face go slack from his words. _Did he mean what I...? No, he couldn't. He didn't even know._ Despite that knowledge, I still teared up a bit. He didn't seem to notice, thankfully, and he crawled down my arm to land on the ground as we finally reached the house.

I stared up at the building in shock. It was a lot bigger than it looked on the inside, stretching away in both directions for a good hundred yards. As for the height, it was just as impressive, probably three stories high and connecting with the ceiling of the cavern. Unfortunately, the original white paint was flaking off from years of abuse and neglect, and the windows were dark and grime covered. I could only imagine how it would have looked all nice and lit up, with a fresh coat of paint and some well-deserved TLC.

It took a moment for me to realize that Flowey was tugging on my leg and I looked down at him quickly, shaking my head. **"Sorry! The house is just so... Big. And sad."** He only gave a knowing look before gesturing inside.

"Come on. We can stop when we get out of the open." I tilted my head at him in confusion but nodded and followed him inside, not bothering to attempt to shut the door behind me. It wasn't even attached any more, parts of the hinges laying across the floor in one of the corners.

I took a good look around as we crossed the threshold, even though there wasn't much to see. There was a staircase right across from the front door, probably going to the basement. I turned to glance down the hall to my left. Other for the occasional door and discarded picture frame, there was nothing else.

Something flashed at the end of the hall. So I stood corrected. I started forward, ignoring Flowey's questions about where I was headed, my feet carrying me forward slowly. Curiosity was always my one downfall. It got me into more trouble than I cared to remember. And yet, I always listened to it.

By the time I reached the end of the hall, I could already tell it was a mirror. It wasn't anything special, just a faked gold-framed piece of glass. I reached out to touch it, my hands trailing along the small indention below the glass. "M- The king and queen bought that mirror for their kids. A long long time ago." He sounded sad, but I couldn't tear my gaze away from my reflection. Did my eyes always have a red tint?

"Their daughter was really surprised when she realized it was pure gold." I instantly drew my hand back, the moment broken. Okay, not fake gold. Very real gold. Noted.

Flowey chuckled but said nothing more as he wrapped a vine around my hand and led me away, drawing me into the door right next door. There was no furniture, but there were shapes in the dust from where things used to be. There was another door, which I was pulled towards, Flowey's vines coming up to twist the knob. On the inside it was revealed to have clothes eerily similar to my own. I blinked then turned to him.

**"How...?"**

He grinned, "The royals had a daughter and she dressed very close to the way you do. It's creepy sure, but at least you'll be comfortable." It was true that they were similar, other than the color. Almost all of them were black, a few more shades thrown in here and there. I went ahead and grabbed a black tank top, handing it to Flowey, before digging through the sweaters and cardigans. Dust tickled through the air and I sneezed more than once before I finally found a dark violet cardigan. It was a little dark for my preference, but oh well. I could deal with it.

Flowey gladly handed me back my new clothes and he wiggled over to the door. "I'll let you change," he glanced back at me, regret in his eyes, "I don't think I have any pants for you to change into, though. I'm sorry."

Smiling, I shook my head, **"It's not like these are hanging off me anyway. It's just a few holes, so don't feel bad. You apologize too much."** He blushed but left without another word, giving me plenty of time to switch clothes and leave my old ones in an empty corner of the closet.

I exited a little timidly, but Flowey would have none of it, "You look great! I thought they'd fit, but it's nice to know I guessed right. Though, I still feel bad about the leggings."

I gave him an exasperated look and he chuckled, "No more apologizing. I know. Now, I figure I can show you around a bit before you get too tired, right?" I nodded enthusiastically and his smile grew wider. "Well, what are we waiting for then? Let's go-" It was then that he turned violet, his body floating into the air before he was thrown through the door and down the hall. I heard something in the distance crash, but my eyes were glued to the figure in front of me, terror coursing through my veins as I felt ice flow through me.

It's pupil lit with purple fire, the skeleton had a eerie smile on his skull, the contours of it's bones sharp and creepy in the shadows. It spoke quietly as it stepped forward, my body shaking at the familiar, dangerous tone, "hey there human. i'm afraid we didn't really get to meet earlier, i got pretty _rattled_ because of you. but I think it's time i finally introduced myself to you." It moved into the light and I stared at the bony hand offered to me, "i'm sans, sans the skeleton, and i want you to cut out whatever the hell your you're doing to me." 

My body seemed to freeze at the name I was presented with. I stood before the very same skeleton who had apparently saved my life just to kill me later. The skeleton who I had dreamed about not a few hours before. At that realization, I came back to myself, giving him a good once over as my interest overcame my fear. He wore a fairly large, fluffy jacket that concealed most of his bones, other than his neck and hands. It was midnight blue in color, the hems along his waist and arms a dark red which was tainted with strands of gold that spider-webbed over the fabric and provided a stark contrast to the darkness around it. The fur of the hood was nearly as black as a raven's feathers. As for the rest of him, his clothes appeared to follow the same color scheme. His legs were hidden by a pair of long, form-fitting black pants and his ribs were tucked away beneath what looked to be a black t-shirt.

"human. did you not hear what i just said? it really wouldn't be best if you ignored me. tibia-honest, it could lead to you havin' a real **b a d t i m e.** " He raised his hand, the small lights in his sockets disappearing, and I just acted on instinct, the terror hitting me full-force once again. I flinched back, tripping over my own two feet and landing on the floor. A loud thud echoed around the deadly silent room, but I didn't dare look up, my eyes tightly sealed shut. I was shaking, my breathing getting faster. A hand barely touched my shoulder and I yelped, flinging myself backwards.

"shit..." This time, when the hand touched me, I couldn't fight back or move, my body immobile. I tried to shout, but something kept my mouth shut. Tears built up in my eyes and I felt a rising panic in my chest. _I didn't want this... I didn't want this to happen again. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm-_

"human...i'm not gonna... hurt you. but you just... gotta calm down. okay?" His voice was softer all of a sudden, maybe not exactly friendly, but definitely less threatening. It drew me out of the past, my trembling slowly coming to a halt after several minutes. I felt whatever it was that was holding me release me. My hands moved uncertainly.

 **"Why... are you upset? Did i do something? Why did you save me?"** He huffed and I stopped, withholding another wince. He didn't seem to notice.

"i'm upset 'cause all i wanted to do was keep you alive long enough to take you to the doc, and now i'm seeing weird things i'd rather not be seein'." I felt my teeth grit together. So he was planning on taking me to the Doctor then? "i need you to explain, but i also need to get you to doctor g, so this is what's gonna happen. i'll get you to the lab alive and you're gonna come willingly, or i'm gonna make you. when we get there, we're gonna separate our souls and you're gonna talk to g for a while, yeah?" I narrowed my eyes at him, knowing if I went with him, I wouldn't return again. I couldn't exactly fight him, though. I didn't want that. But if I left... I would probably die.

But hey, that's why I came here originally right?

 **"You are going to kill me."** He seemed startled and for a moment I swore I saw guilt flash across his bony face. It was gone as fast as it appeared, though, and I felt my gut drop.

"i never said that."

 **"You didn't need to. What about Flowey?"** He really looked as though he were giving this some serious thought before he answered.

"he's a traitor. i'll take him to the king and queen and let them decide what to do-"

"No." My voice was scratchy from the lack of use, but the word was firm. My hands moved with much more confidence from earlier, **"Leave him alone and I won't fight you. I'll go with you willingly."** His face appeared to pinch in confusion, his non-existent eyebrows drawing together in confusion and surprise.

"but why? he's just a flower."

 **"He took care of me. He's a good boy. He doesn't deserve any pain if he has a good soul."** Sans stared at me for a good, long time before he spoke finally.

"fine. i won't hurt the flower." I nodded and slowly pushed myself back onto my feet. He stood with me, not offering his hand again. I'd had my chance. "let's go then human."

We headed out of the room, Sans followed by me, my heart aching for the sparse moments I had shared with Flowey. He hadn't returned, and my soul yearned to know if he was okay. I thought about asking Sans, but I had a feeling he'd say no, a feeling that came straight from the center of my being. Or should I say: our being? So, I decided to do something I had never done before. I swore I'd make it another day until I saw him again. No dying until then, no matter what happened. I would have to stick through it all the way to the end, whatever that maybe.

Determination filled my soul.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so everyone is aware, the next chapter will probably not be out for a week and a half. I have another story I'm working on on Wattpad and I want to give it as much love as I do this story. I promise I'll post again this month and I hope you all won't get too impatient with me. I love you all and thanks for reading! I'll see you soon!
> 
> Also, The Tumblr is complete!!! And there is an art contest waiting for you all there if you really want to do it!  
> https://scarlettrosella.tumblr.com/


	7. A Strange Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans POV  
> Pretty much chapter 5 in his pov, plus a little more.

The first thing I registered about her was that, whilst she was a little uncertain about me, she wasn't afraid. Instead she seemed enthralled, her brown eyes scanning over my form. I mean, I could understand. After all, I was a  _boneified_ , _sanssational_ skeleton. But having so much attention focused towards me was starting to make me uncomfortable.

So, I did what I did best and did something I shouldn't have. I let my anger and confusion overflow, my hand raising into the air in frustration. It was then the fear appeared in her eyes, except it was overwhelming, the feeling of panic hitting me straight in the chest. I nearly fell over, breath knocked out of me, and I gasped as my knee-caps (patellas) hit the floor. The thud that echoed around the room proved I wasn't the only one who had fallen, but I barely heard it.

Vision going in and out of focus, I felt the floor beneath my hands, my fingers clawing at it. How could a skeleton be out of breath? I didn't know, but I was heaving trying to drag air into my nonexistent lungs. Sweat dripped from my face.

A small cry made me look up, fear pulsing in my soul. I could just make out the human, curled in on herself and shaking terribly. _She's doing this..._ I tried to grab her shoulder, frustration swallowing the panic for a moment, my own hand trembling and rattling.

I had just brushed against her when she flinched back and something flashed in my mind's eye. A hand swinging forward, heading straight for my face, and I was completely unable to move. I growled and the image was gone as soon as it came, forced away.

"shit..." I focused, channeling my magic as best as I could through the turmoil in my mind, barely able to grasp it. The familiar spark in my eye, followed by the tell-tell violet tinting of her skin let me know I had succeeded for the moment. Thankfully, she wasn't able to pull away when I managed to touch her shoulder this time, though she did since, and I gently brushed the tips of my fingers along her face. 

I had no idea what to do.

"human... i'm not gonna... hurt you. but you just... gotta calm down. okay?" My voice was weak, close to begging to my utter disgust. But so long as the fear stopped. It seemed to calm her, thank Asgore, her eyes peeking out at me from behind her arms. I let her go, leaning back and rubbing my face, my fingers resting at my temples.

She let me explain though, and she took it fairly well when I told her what was going to happen. I attempted to leave out the whole 'you're gonna die' part, but she seemed to already know to my surprise. Humans weren't as daft as I originally thought, but at least I wouldn't have to drag her into the Lab kicking and screaming. She was eerily calm, in fact. It sent a shiver up my spine. Then I mentioned Flower-boy.

"No." Her voice was soft, unused, and raspy, but I recognized the command behind the word. It made a flare of anger bloom in my chest, along with something I couldn't identify, but I didn't move or speak. Her hands were already moving again and I was a little rusty on my sign language. I really had to focus to get the whole message.

**"Leave him alone and I won't fight you. I'll go with you willingly."**

 I blinked, utterly confused at this point. "but why? he's just a flower?"

 **"He took care of me. He's a good boy. He doesn't deserve any pain if he has a good soul."** Her words shocked me, causing a stirring in my soul. I studied her, sought her thoughts through her eyes, and I saw... Truth. 

I would be lying if I said I couldn't feel it either, even if I didn't want to be.

"fine. i won't hurt the flower." She nodded, content, and I got to my feet. I didn't bother to offer her a hand."let's go then human." I moved towards the door, hearing rather than seeing her follow.

As we descended the stairs I let my thoughts wander since we were both silent. It was tense but strangely peaceful. I had expected a fight, but she wasn't resisting and I wasn't forcing her. Common ground is the best ground according to Paps.

The hallway was as dark and dirty as it was before. Nothing had changed obviously since I had climbed the steps this morning. It seemed to bother the human, though, her small form moving closer to me. It almost made me want to laugh. It should be me she was afraid of, not the dark.

Yet, as I opened the door to the next part of the Underground, I almost froze as a thought ran through my mind. The girl was busy staring out into the snowy forest, so she didn't notice my glare.

If I was to be honest with myself, it would be a lie to say she felt dangerous. I was starting to believe she couldn't hurt a fly. But why? I wasn't sure, so I shoved the thought away as nonsense.

Hopefully this would all be over soon.


	8. A Punny Skeleton and A Invisible Attacker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk's POV  
> Some Puns and a Mysterious Attacker?

I'm glad we weren't talking because when he opened the large door I was left speechless. There was white powder everywhere, coating every surface . There had only been one other time where I had seen so much snow.

I didn't let myself picture it.

Taking a step forward, I winced slightly as the cold hit my feet, skin soaked in seconds. I realized I was still missing a shoe, not to mention my other one was a mere slip on, not meant for walking in snow. Shivering, I went ahead and shook off the remaining shoe, sighing heavily as the cold was allowed full access to both my feet. I glanced behind me, my eyes meeting Sans'.

**"Is there any place I can get a pair of shoes?"**

"shoes?" He looked me up and down before sighing and rubbing a skeletal hand to his temple. I thought I heard him mutter something about, "weak ass human female," but maybe that was just my imagination. Somehow, I thought not. _I guess I should try and figure out a way convince him..._

He surprised me, though. "maybe when we get to snowden. it's not like i carry a pair on me."

I blinked in surprise before offering a small smile. **"Thank you."** He huffed but said nothing more, striding ahead of me and into the trees. I quickly followed, trying hard to ignore the growing numbness in my toes.

We walked for a while before I realized we were on a small path, the snow significantly more trampled before I ever put my feet down. It had gotten to the point where I was shivering, rather heavily too, my teeth chattering audibly. I really wasn't dressed for this weather. 

However, no matter how cold I got, I didn't ask Sans for anything else. I wasn't really afraid of him, in fact I still felt bad about when I had freaked out on him earlier. It just didn't know him all that well, and besides that he worried me. Images of my dream revolved constantly around my mind.

His father, the mysterious figure I had never caught sight of, had left him and the smaller skeleton behind. _I believe his name was Papyrus if I remember correctly._ Sans had been emotionally destroyed by this, so much so I could still feel the heartache from hours before. I felt... Like I wanted to help. I just didn't know how, or if he'd even accept it. _There had to be a way, though, right? Maybe if I-_

"human." I jumped at his voice, stopping right before I rammed into his chest. Just when had he turned around? "stop wasting time and hurry it up. we have a lot of ground to cover." I tried to keep my expression neutral as I felt my frozen feet twitch.

 **"Okay."** He started to turn away but stopped, instead leaning down into my face. I fought to stand still and not step back. He was just a little too close. 

"what's wrong with you?" He seemed to be searching my face for some change in expression. To bad he probably wouldn't see anything. I had trained myself to do this, and now I could do it without even thinking about it. Unfortunately, it also meant it was harder to make it go away and open myself up. Though, so far I hadn't had a reason to show anything.

Shaking my head, I shrugged, "Nothing's wrong. I am fine."

He huffed, "look, human, i may be a bonehead, but seriously. i'm not that blind and the last thing i need is a human popsicle to turn into the doc." I frowned, but he smirked in response, "he likes his experiments whole and healthy. at first."

If he was expecting me to look scared, well he must have been sorely disappointed. I crossed my arms and gave him the best irritated look i could muster. "what?" He appeared to be slightly disturbed. Good.

I signed deliberately, **"I am fine, Sans."** He blinked at my statement, eyes widening just a little bit. It was the first time I had used his name after all. Then he threw his feet back and started to laugh. I didn't find it very funny, I didn't even see what was so hilarious.

 "what's that human? are you getting _toe_ cold?" Okay, now I really was angry. Now was not the time to be making puns. At my unchanging face he rolled his eyes, that smile of his growing just a tab bit wider. How the heck did it even do that? "hey now, don't give me the _cold_ shoulder. don't be so _stiff_." I was starting to regret not landing on my head earlier. At least that's what I told myself as I fought back a grin. Did he always have the ability to make jokes at the worst times?

 **"Hey, I never said that. But your jokes are a bit _flaky_ , aren't they?"** I let the smile overcome my face at his reaction to my lame attempt at a pun. He was staring at me as though I had grown a second head, his face one of pure incredulous shock. I decided I liked that look on him. **"What? Has your tongue _frozen_ over?"**

At my beaming look, he turned away and started walking, just a bit faster than before. I started after him happily, momentarily forgetting the cold. A punny skeleton, huh? He really couldn't be as harsh as he let on. It was surprising, though. How I already felt like I... knew him. It had to be the soul bond, right? We were connected, at least for now, and no matter how I felt about that, it had to be a good thing. Maybe I could... gain a friend before... I died? I instantly pushed the thought to the back of my mind. I couldn't. He wouldn't want to know me anyway once he knew more about me. once he knew what I was. He'd hate me more than he already does.

My vision blinked out as something appeared in front of me and I stumbled, pulled rudely from my mind. It was the same little boxes from earlier, my soul floating out and coming to a halt above it. I looked around, confused. Who had challenged me? Sans had disappeared up the path, so there was no sight of him to my slight discomfort, and otherwise the forest seemed empty. I turned around slowly, scanning between the trees. Maybe Sans was playing some sort of trick on me? I didn't see the familiar jacket, though, but he could be waiting in some shadows or something. I thought about calling out, but decided against it. I didn't like to speak. Besides, I could handle this.

Almost as soon as I thought that, purple water droplets came shooting out of the trees, crashing into me and sending me to the ground. Snow filled my mouth, cold and wet and so not what I needed right now. At least it was somewhat refreshing. The ground started to turn the same shade of violet and I barely had time to roll away before the drops exploded from beneath me. Snow clung to me, my clothes growing more soaked by the second. Thankfully, the attacks stopped for a moment and I took a second to just lay there, face to the sky and back in the snow.

"Excuse me, but can you please hurry? I have a deadline to meet, so I have to finish this fight quickly." The voice startled me more than I let on. It was male and quite wispy, nearly inaudible. Lifting my head up, I tried to spot the figure, just barely catching it out of the corner of my eye, but the buttons reappeared and blocked my view. I swiftly hit Act and Check. A name blinked into existence, followed by some 'stats'.

** Napstablook- ATK 5. DEF 10. **


	9. Good Gracious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans' POV
> 
> A reaction.

* * *

WHERE THE HELL DID SHE GO?! My mind was in a panic. The sun was starting to lower and despite my limited knowledge I knew she couldn't last in the intense cold that came with the night. I could only hope a storm didn't come in till I found her.

 

I started back down the path, frustration welling up in my chest. Then the sounds of fighting reached my ears and I started to run, coming to a halt as I watched the show in front of me.

 

My smile faltered.


	10. A Ghostly Battle and a Distant Figure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk's POV  
> A ghostly battle ensues.

I stared at the name for a moment, before looking around uneasily. The buttons blinked out of existence, leaving me to prepare myself for whatever the monster would throw at me. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long for the drops to return, and this time I was ready. 

I dodged them with ease, twisting and dipping beneath most of them. My soul followed my every move, only getting hit a few times, but the pain wasn't all that bad, just causing an increasingly tightening grip in my chest. It wasn't intolerable, though. I'd been through worse.

However, even as I maneuvered around everything they threw at me, they never showed themselves. The attacks came from absolute nothingness. It didn't seem to last as long this time around, thankfully.

It died out quickly and I hit Act, breathing hard. I hadn't move this much it years. It was great. **"My name's Frisk. Where are you? I'd like to meet you."** A laugh accompanied my words.

"Sign language, huh? Oh, I guess I did forget to become visible, my bad. It's a habit." I watched, a little stunned, as a purple form took shape slowly. He had no arms, legs, or head really, but his eyes and mouth were present, almost like a floating blob. _Well, that's rude._ I swiftly shook my head and frowned, causing the ghost to chuckle.

"You're a human right?" Another batch of water flowed towards me and I saw it was a lot like the Froggit's attacks from earlier. The drops would appear around his body and just move towards me, or rather my soul. That was where they seemed to be targeted towards, like they were being drawn in. I quickly reached out and took the in my hands, ducking with it.

Act. **"Hey, you're really good at your attacks."**

"And you're good at dodging. Somehow, I thought humans would be easier to hit." I smiled slightly at the compliment before jumping out of the way once more.

Act. **"So, are you attacking me because I'm a human? I've heard they're not to popular down here."** I almost regretted the question upon seeing the small shadow overcome Napstablook's face, but a moment later he answered with a sly smirk.

"Not exactly. I thought you were Sans." I tilted my head as I dropped to the snow to avoid a full-frontal assault.

Act. **"You know Sans? Are you friends?"** Maybe this was my chance to find out more about him?

"Oh yeah, Sans and I have known each other for years. He's my favorite person to scare. He can be such a chicken." He chuckled, his eyes gleaming, and I sighed, leaping away from him as the ground exploded again. I was starting to tire.

Act. **"How'd you know we were over here?"**

"I know everything," he winked, "but I could also see you through the trees. I just figured he had finally decided to get a new coat." I giggled quietly, but it came to a halt as I tripped, landing face first in the snow. I felt a barrage of water hit my soul and I had to bite back a yelp of pain. That one hurt.

Taking a look at my HP, I saw that it had dropped to nine. I could only take two more hits. Pushing myself up, I attempted to stand, but my legs instantly gave out. Turning my attention to my feet, I saw that they had become a nasty shade of blue. That's when I registered just how cold I really was.

I was soaked and my fingers were a similar shade to my toes. It didn't help that the wind was starting to pick up and snowflakes were being to spiral down through the branches. I coughed weakly as I sucked air into my lungs. What was I going to do?

Act. **"You wouldn't... Have a way to warm me up, would you?"** I was almost too nervous to ask, but it was worth a try. Appealing to someone's good side was always a start. 

The ghost instantly floated towards me and I fought the urge to scoot back. If he attacked from this close, it would surely do more damage, and I didn't know if I could take it. I was so very wrong, though. 

"Oh my, look at your poor skin." He appeared to be upset, his words dropping to a very gentle tone. Then the tears came again, but they were green, and before I could shield myself they hit my soul.

It didn't hurt. That was the first thing I realized. The second was that I started to grow hot and my skin started to glow a dull purple. I sighed as the needles left my nerves and I let myself relax. I brought my eyes to his gratefully.

Act. **"Thank you."**

"Heh, don't mention it. You were a worthy opponent."

**_Napstablook has spared you._ **

I stared at the small message before smiling at him. He seemed to understand my appreciation because he settled down beside me. I noticed that, despite his lack of a body, he was actually quite warm. I glanced towards him and he caught my look.

"I'm a magical ghost, honey. I happen to like body heat." I nodded slightly, shivering and burrowing a little closer. I heard him hum. "I'll wait here with you. You said you were traveling with Sans, right?"

I shook my head, **"No, but I was. How'd you know?"**

He appeared to shrug. "You've soul bonded with him. It's a logical guess. How'd you get that hard-head to bond with you anyway?" I frowned a little at that.

**"He did it while I was... Asleep."**

"Asleep, huh? As a writer of fiction, I know a lie when I hear one." He gave me a look that said to 'spill it' so I did. With just a few minor changes added in that is. I didn't want him knowing the whole truth. And when it came to the end he just watched me. He watched me for so long I was more than a little nervous when he spoke again.

"So you _fell_ ," he put more emphasis on that word than was needed, making my stomach turn, "and he bonded with you to keep you alive?" I nodded as he looked away from me to stare wistfully into the trees, "He could have killed you both."

I sighed, relieved, **"So I've been told."**

"Besides that, has he done-"

"human." I nearly jumped out of my skin as Sans appeared in front of me, his eye flashing violet before fading back to the little white light. Where did he come from?

Napstablook floated up to greet him and I had to fight back a whine as the wind hit me again. "Sans, how have you been? I see you've made a new friend."

Sans ignored him, his eyes never leaving me. I could almost feel the anger flowing off him, his gaze sharp. It almost made me want to cry, but that may have been influenced by the exhaustion crawling in my bones.

I barely had the energy to sign, **"Hey Sans, took you long enough to join us."** He didn't respond. I tried again, **"Napstablook and I were just talking about you-"**

"shut. the fuck. up." Napstablook and I both froze at his words. My eyes widened, his gaining a purple hue once more. "i don't know you're thinking, but this isn't some adventure. you're not going to survive, in fact, i'm going to enjoy watching g rip you to shreds and take your soul." Only Napstablook noticed that Sans' eyes did not match what he was saying. "you'd be better off just killing yourself off now and letting me deal with getting your soul to the lab. human trash like you are the reason we're down here, the reason why paps can't ever see the actual sun, the reason why our mom died, the reason why g-" He shook his head before continuing, cutting off that train of thought. I couldn't meet his eyes. He was right.

A tense silence followed, only interrupted when Sans turned away. "you have three minutes." Now, watching him walk away, I was certain I wanted to cry. What did I do wrong? I didn't understand. Was it just because I was a human? Was it because I was... me? If he really wanted me too, I guess I could end it, that was why I originally came here, but I wanted to explore a little more. A sick feeling started in my gut at the words that crossed my mind. "this isn't some adventure." I knew that. I did. I shouldn't enjoy this. I'm such a piece of-

"Hey, Frisk!" I jumped at the strained voice. Slowly, raising my head, I managed to meet Napstablook's eyes. I had to look away, though. The concern there was too palpable. "Frisk, please, I need you to listen to me." I was barely able to nod. He sighed, "Sans... He doesn't mean what he says. I swear. He's really not like that, he has just had some bad times. He doesn't know how to act around you."

 **"But why?"** He settled down next to me again.

"Sans is right when he says humans stuck us down here. He fails to mention that none of those humans were like you. I've personally never met one that never fought to kill, and you never even picked up a stick to defend yourself with. There will always be someone against you, but as long as you work for it, they will always come around." I looked at her, eyes blurry with unshed tears. He took in what seemed to be a painful breath before he leaned forward and placed his forehead against mine. Or at least he tried to, seeing as he was a ghost. It was the thought that counted. "I need you to stay strong. Sans just needs some time. But look, you've already made a monster friend."

I pulled back a little, tilting a head at him. He seemed to find this funny, "Me, silly. I'm your friend." My eyes widened.

"R-Really?!" Napstablook started at my spoken words, and for a moment I thought his eyes went a bit dark. But it was gone as soon as it appeared and he only smiled.

"Of course. I would really like to spend some time with you, that isn't filled with us fighting." I nodded my head quickly, a happily shocked grin on my face.

"Good. Now, I'm gonna help you out a little bit more, okay?" Confused, I merely dipped my head as a sign for him to continue. Almost at once he disappeared and reappeared, bringing with him a pair of lace-up, black boots. "These should help keep your fleshy bits warm." I giggled at the term before gently taking the shoes into my hands. The insides were lined with fur and the outside with thick material of some sort. I could almost feel my smile fall off my face from how huge it was.

 **"Thank you!"** He only nodded, watching as I slipped them on. They were a perfect fit, to my surprise. He didn't go into details, though, so I just assumed it was his magic's doing.

"Now, how about I lead you back over to grumpy-skele and I'll show you what it means to make his bones rattle-"

"BLOOKY~ COME OUT DARLING! IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO CLEAN MY QUARTERS~" Napstablook's face turned cold in an instant. It was so different from his normal expression that I turned to look in the direction of the mysterious voice. My mouth nearly dropped open. There, just a shadow in the dimming light, was the large figure of a boat. I could just make out the figure of a person standing on the edge, standing triumphantly in some sort of pose. Scrambling to my feet to get a better look, the next thing I knew Napstablook was in my face.

"Don't go over there. You'll regret your entire life. Just go find Sans and I'll deal with him." I nearly asked who 'him' was but Sans had suddenly appeared once more from behind me. His hand gripped my arm just a little bit too hard, but I said nothing else as he dragged me away. He seemed to be in some sort of a rush, and I couldn't help but figure that it had something to do with the boat-person. I went to wave goodbye to Napstablook, but he was already fading out of existence. He winked at me as he completely vanished, a small pang going through me, but I felt better.

I changed my gaze to Sans and sighed internally. His face was closed off now, the anger gone from his eyes, but I knew better than to assume it was gone. This was going to be hard. But I was determined to find out more about him. Maybe Napstablook was right. I would just have to work for it and see.

 


	11. Doubts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans' POV
> 
> Guilt will always pile up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! So nice of you all to read this far, because I know some of the chapters are worse than the others. As this is my first Undertale work, despite the characters having the personalities I gave them, I have a hard time pacing myself sometimes. In this case, if time seems to be going by a little quickly, that's because it really is. Frisk has been in the Underground for a grand total of three days. (She was knocked out from her wounds from the prologue for a day.) 
> 
> Next up, I haven't decided whether to write the next chapter before going back to my book on Wattpad. I probably won't just yet, so I'll let you know.
> 
> And finally, the art contest for Chapter two is drawing to a close! The deadline is April 1st, so if you want to submit something please let me know! If you don't know what I'm talking about, check it out here: https://scarlettrosella.tumblr.com/

_You feel your sins crawling up your back._

I tried to ignore it, focusing on the fury in my chest, but it was hard to when I wasn't sure who it was targeted towards. The human hadn't done anything to be honest, but at the same time they'd done everything. And then you had me, and what I did.

When I found her fighting Naspablook I wanted her to strike at him. I know it sounds terrible, but he's a ghost and any attack would just go right through him. He was the perfect test subject, but it didn't seem to matter. She'd failed. Or did she pass? I didn't understand at all, frustration taking over my soul as she dodged wave after wave of Blooky's attacks. I found myself hoping she'd at least throw a half decent punch. Seeing them sit down together was the final straw. A monster helping a human? Unheard of. So, I snapped, saying things... I wasn't proud of. But she was a human, it didn't matter.

_Lies._

All my life I had been taught that humans were destruction, death, and everything that monsters should hate and avoid. They were the 'monsters' under _our_ beds. We were taught to want revenge on them, and I was on the top of that list. If it weren't for them my mother would still be alive. Paps would be able to see the actual sky. Our father wouldn't have had his accident.

That's what made it so hard. She was a human, but she wasn't the same as the others, and I wasn't blind to it, though I wish I was. My shame was larger than my ego, which was pretty big, and I wasn't sure how to deal with it. When everything you've learned turns out to be a lie, well, how would you react? Of course, G would probably say they were faking, and Undyne would agree. That wasn't what they were showing me, though. Hell, she hadn't even picked up a weapon, and I did know that for a fact. Where would they have hidden it? In their cardigan or torn up leggings?

No. I think not.

And then you had Napstablook. Man, did that ghost have a way with words.

*****

_I watched from afar as the human and Napstablook talked, tapping my foot in impatience as I tried to calm my racing soul. I kept glancing behind me, afraid that someone, possibly one of the other sentries, would come along. I really didn't want to get into another argument. Especially with Papyrus. Or the King. Thankfully, after a moment, the ghost vanished, much to my minor surprise. Thinking they were done, I started forward, only to come to an abrupt halt as Blooky appeared in front of me. We were still in the cover of the trees, far enough back that the girl couldn't see us if she tried to look._

_A little nervous, I tried to push off the sudden heavy feeling in my chest. Of course, that meant channeling my comic-persona, "blooky-ol-pal! What a nice way to **pop** in-"_

_"If I had arms, I would slap you right now." The anger coming off of him was so palpable I could almost see it. It made me freeze, my mouth still hanging open, joke half finished. A chill went through my bones._

_I attempted to play it off after a moment, finding my voice, "w-well blook, you really **rattled** me there. why so upset bud?"_

_"Let me tell you. I've only got a moment, so you better listen. You and I both know that girl," he jerked the upper half of his body back towards where the human was still sitting, "is different. The other humans brought weapons, or made them, and she has nothing. She flipping dodged Sans. She ACTED. Not once did I see her glance at the FIGHT button. And you did something like that?" I bit my 'lip' before opening my mouth to reply, but he stopped me._

_"No. Just pay attention. If you're not careful and watch what you say, then you might just turn her into what you're afraid of. What we're all afraid of. And I don't think you want that on your shoulders,_ pal _." The last word was said with such venom, that I could only watch as he turned and started to float away. He glanced back at me only once. "And Sans, maybe you should consider that just because she's a human doesn't mean she hasn't had her share of bad times."_

*****

God, don't I know it. After what her soul had shown me, I was pretty sure that was the case. This only added onto my confusion, though. If she had went through such things, then wouldn't it make sense that she would turn out to be like the ones who did it to her? Maybe it didn't, I don't know, but I was grasping at my metaphorical straws at this point. I needed to make her the villain. I couldn't sympathize with her. Her soul had to go to our cause, to our freedom. There was no other choice.

Something tugged on my arm. Jerking, I glanced back, my head snapping around and my gaze turning sharp. The human flinched and I instinctively bowed my head, releasing the death grip I had on her wrist. I took a small step back, bringing a hand up to rub at my neck bones. "yeah? what's up?" When I didn't hear anything I realized that I needed to actually look at her to get her message. 

 **"Sans...,"** her hands were hesitant and unsure, her eyes betraying her. She looked like someone who was staking her entire life on whatever she had to say. **"I-It's getting really c-cold and I- W-Well... I c-can't really f-feel my hands. Or my arms or l-legs."** Blinking, I turned my gaze to her person, feeling my sockets widen as I took in her bluing fingers and icy hairs. My stomach twisted as I noticed her trembling, and I took a deep breath to steady myself. Sometimes, I could be so stupid. How could I have not noticed? I could blame my sense of temperature, but at this point that would be a dull argument. 

The wind was practically howling at this point, snow spiraling down in clumps and sticking to every surface available to it. We were probably walking in close to four feet of the stuff by then, and while the human wasn't all that shorter than me, it came up to almost her waist.

"come here." My voice was about as hollow as I felt. The feeling only increased as her eyes lit up with something close to terror.

 **"O-Oh-! N-Never mind! I'll be fine! I c-can keep-!"** She let out a small squeak as I lifted her into my arms, her hands grasping my coat so tight I could feel her nails through the fabric. She met my eyes slowly, acceptance and fear intermingling in her gaze. **"I-I'm sorry..."** I could only shake my head, worried about what I would sound like if I tried to say anything. She looked like she was going to cry at this point.

"we're gonna take a short cut. hang on." She seemed startled by the fact that I only said what I did. For all I knew, she had assumed I was just going to kill her. I chased the thought away quickly, summoning my magic with practiced ease. A purple tint lit up the surrounding area before everything started to dissolve, fading out of existence to be replaced with some wooden furniture not a second later. Thankfully, we had only been about a mile away from the closest sentry post, or I might've had a problem getting us here in one piece.

Taking a look around the room, I was glad to see that we were alone. The cabin was one of many sentry stations, but this one was so far out that people didn't usually come here. I was the only one who could get here before night fell anyway. No one wanted to get caught out in a snow storm and have no way to find shelter. I, however, didn't have that problem. Teleportation was really cool when you didn't consider the multiple downsides. Like the threat of accidentally phasing into a wall. Or door. Mostly doors.

I nearly didn't notice the whimpering in my little mental reverie. I turned my attention to the girl. Now that I was holding her, I could feel her shivering. She had nearly been jumping out of my arms. Frowning, I glanced towards the fireplace, snapping my fingers. A small, violet spark later and a healthy fire was burning, filling the room with a soft heat. I heard the human sigh and I followed it with one of my own. Next, I headed to the couch, setting her down even as she scrambled to get away from me as I did. Putting my hands up in a sign of peace, I turned away, heading towards one of the cupboards along the walls and pulling out a thick quilt. I thought about keeping up my 'I didn't care' attitude, but decided that throwing the blanket at her might just knock her into the floor and cause some new problems. So, I just floated it over to her and dropped it on her lap. She instantly shoved it off, though.

"what? i thought you wanted to be warm?" I couldn't keep the slight frustration out of my voice, seeing her ungrateful action. She quickly shook her head, though.

 **"N-No! It's just that I'm wet and... I didn't want to ruin it..."** She trailed off, twirling her fingers together in some sort of ritual of warmth I remembered reading about as a child. I once again praised the thought that, as a skeleton, I didn't have to worry about keeping warm. Which is why I decided to do something I would have only done for Paps.

Striding over towards her, I crouched down beside her, the light from my eye tinting her face. She watched me warily, confusion shimmering in her gaze, but I merely held my hands over her. The glow spread to my hands and she gasped as the water drained from her clothes, the fabric returning to it's normal shades of color. 

"how's that?" She stared at herself for a moment before shaking her head and meeting my eyes, this time a little bashful and amazed.

**"It's nice. Thank you..."**

"don't mention it." I started to stand, but she grabbed my arm, stopping me halfway. I raised an eyebrow at her. "what's up?"

 **"What about you? Are you going to sleep?"** I only shrugged  nonchalantly.

"maybe. maybe not. why?"

 **"There's only this couch and if you wanted to sleep I can move to lay in front of the fire place."** My gaze sharpened slightly, eyes narrowing in stunned astonishment.

"you want to lay on the floor?"

 **"No! I just... If you were tired I wouldn't mind moving and letting you have the couch."** She sighed and looked away, but I only huffed.

"human, just cause i don't like you, don't mean i'm gonna make you sleep like an animal." She seemed to wince a little at my words but she nodded, a small, sad smile gracing her features. It was really the most drastic change to her face I had seen all day. The thought sent a pang through my chest, followed by another bout of displeasure. Whipping around, I started towards the fire place and plopped down next to it, leaning against the hard bricks and closing my eyes. I heard her shuffle around a moment before she settled down, and it wasn't long until I heard a light snoring. I chuckled.

For someone so dangerous, she sure was a quiet one. It made me actually consider what Napstablook had told me. The previous humans had been violent and terrifying, slashing down whatever came in their paths without remorse, but they hadn't had that look in their eyes. The one this human did. The closed off, tired look that was accompanied by forced happiness or other such emotions. I didn't have to get close to see it, I knew it well enough. I wore it often.

I attempted to push the more... unwanted thoughts away and opened my eyes again, drowsily glancing towards her. It probably wasn't a good idea to sleep with her so close to me, but I hadn't realized just how exhausted I really was. It felt like my sockets were being weighed down. I barely had time to register her peaceful expression before my mind went foggy and darkness claimed me.


	12. Two Different Faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk's POV
> 
> You think you get a pretty decent feel for a person, but you were missing quite a bit, actually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm probably going to do Sans' chapter before going back to my other story. As always, ask questions and give feedback in the comment section and I'll be more than happy to respond to you!

_"BROTHER, I DEMAND YOU COME DOWNSTAIRS THIS INSTANT!" The shrill voice made me jump, my eyes flying open. Chills ran up my spine, my lungs locking up, flashes of an even angrier yell entering my mind, but I instantly pushed it away. Shivering, I had to take a moment to comprise myself._ I'm not with him anymore. I'm underground, with the monsters. With Sans and Flowey. Nothing's going to hurt me. _I took a deep breath as the fear in my chest dissipated slowly, replaced with a strange exhaustion. I heard myself groan, registering my mouth moving, but instead of rolling over like I attempted, I turned my head to look at a door to my left._ Who...? _I caught sight of myself in a mirror hanging on an unfamiliar wall. Sans' face gazed back at me._ Oh.This again. _Somehow, it wasn't as exciting this time around. I was hoping to get some decent sleep, but oh well._

_"SANS!" Okay, so I was in Sans' body, not like I didn't know that already, but who the heck was screaming so loud?_

_"comin' bro, just give these old bones a second." His brother? My mind flashed back to the small skeleton from the previous memory. Was it Papyrus? He sounded different, less squeaky. Older then?_

_"YOU ARE NOT OLD AND IF YOU DON'T HURRY THEN I WILL COME AND GET YOU."_

_"threats aren't good for you bro. They'll_ ketchup _to you one day."_

_"SANS!" I blinked before fighting back laughter, feeling Sans' smirk cover his face at the faked roar of anger. It was hard to take Papyrus seriously when you could hear the smile in his tone. I was worried though, and my little amusement disappeared. Sans didn't seem like... a very decent guy anymore, especially after what he said to me yesterday. I mean, I could kinda tell when he said he'd wanted me to die that he wasn't joking, but I didn't realize he hated me so much. My stomach rolled._

_Huffing, Sans rolled out of bed, shuffling across the room and swinging open the door. My nervousness only increased as I felt him wince, his eyes narrowing as they adjusted to the sudden light. I felt the rush of irritation run through him, and I didn't like it one bit. It almost made me dizzy as his gaze shifted quickly to what looked to be a living room and the small figure hiding behind a dark red couch. I sought to find any malice in his soul at the sight of the younger skeleton._

_Papyrus was a little taller than the last time I saw him, his shoulders much more square. He wore a white shirt that was far too large for him and a similar black coat, a rather startling, neon green scarf wrapped around his neck. A grin stretched all the way to the corners of his skull, and I could hear him giggling as he hummed a familiar tune under his breath. I waited for Sans' reaction, slightly confused when I could feel Sans' amusement building, and I felt as though I was missing something._

_Then Papyrus did his first tumble, rolling across the floor to come to a halt behind a scarlet love seat. His humming got louder and I finally realized what the song was. It was the James Bond Theme song._

_If I could have I would have slapped a hand over my mouth to keep myself from laughing. Unfortunately, I couldn't, so I ended up hearing my own laughter echo through my mind. It mixed with Sans' barely withheld chuckle and I found myself completely dismissing the idea of his possible anger. Somehow, the heavy feeling in his chest lifted at the sight of his brother, vanishing quickly as he strolled down the stairs. "oh paps! where are you? it's not fair of you to hide from me after getting me outta bed! You know i am a grade a lazybones!" Papyrus giggled, crouching down to scurry across the floor and slip behind the television-set. Sans didn't even turn his head to watch him, even though I knew he saw him, and he strolled away, peeking his head in another room, the kitchen apparently._

_"paps? oh, i guess you aren't making your usual_ spy _ghetti. maybe you're in your room? then you may be doing something for_ private eyes _only, like changin' right? so i should just go back to napping, right?" Gosh, I didn't know Sans could talk so fast. He didn't seem like the type really. Even when he was yelling at me he sounded like a rather big stick-up-the-you-know-where. But now he was a completely different person. He was relaxed to the point that I wondered how he could stay standing when his spine felt like a piece of jell-o._

_"STOP IT THIS INSTANT WITH THOSE HORRID PUNS!" The screech sent my mind spinning, Papyrus latching onto Sans' neck right afterwards. When Sans collapsed, I sighed, a little concern washing over me. I knew he'd fall eventually, but he just rolled with it, turning onto his back to wrap his arms around his little brother._

_"I seem to have to have caught the intruder. talk about some great-" I felt the breath get knocked out of him as Papyrus suddenly kicked out, giggling furiously. Sans lost his grip on him and the young skeleton flew backwards, a loud crash echoing around the room. The following silence was deafening. Sans sat up quickly, his eyes landing on the still form of his brother that laid a few feet away. The heavy feeling was back instantly, with added panic as a side dish._

_"papyrus!" Sans scrambled to his feet, rushing over only to stare at the crack that now decorated Papyrus' skull. He must of hit it on the coffee table, and I barely made out the small pieces of bone that were scattered across the wooden surface. Sans' eyes were welling with tears, making it hard to see anything else as he fell to his knees, his hands glowing his signature violet. He put them over the injury, and I waited with baited breath, listening to Sans' cries, "come on bro. please. do me a favor and wake up, okay? i'll eat as much spaghetti as you want and i'll start limiting my puns. just don't do this. don't leave me alone. please._ please- " _I was nearly in tears myself at that point. Sans' emotions were so strong, so pure for his sibling. It was an overwhelming feeling of terror and love and so much more that I couldn't focus on anything else. Only Papyrus. He was the only thing that mattered._

_There was a bright flash. I winced, not Sans, but as the light died away, a small voice reached my ears, "BROTHER?" The single word would have sent me to my knees if I had any at this point. His little eye sockets opened (still don't understand how), but even if he didn't have 'eyes' to speak of, I could tell he was dazed. His head rolled about a little bit before a soft touch from Sans stopped him. I felt Sans shudder, pulling his hands back to reveal the completely healed skull. He released a pained breath before he pulled Papyrus into a tight hug, his arms like a vice around him. Sans was acting as if he could keep anything from taking him if he just kept him there in his embrace. I felt Sans' tears fall, his shoulders shaking._

_"SANS? WHAT HAPPENED? ARE YOU CRYING?" The more questions he asked, the more Papyrus wiggled around, his energy returning and over-whelming his drowsiness. I could hear the anxiety in his words, completely different from the screeching happiness from earlier. He suddenly sounded much older than he looked, which, knowing nothing about how skeletons age, I assumed to be roughly seven in human years._

_"no, bro, i'm not cryin'. You just_ rattled _my bones_ tibia _honest." His words resounded in my chest with concealed fear and I felt my eyes widen at the feeling of protectiveness that overcame him._ Oh Sans... Something tells me you don't have to hide from him...

_"SANS..." Papyrus didn't even mention anything about the puns, his little hands cupping Sans' face. He tugged at him gently until Sans pulled back, but by the time he did the tears were gone. I knew the paths they took were still visible, though, because at the sight of them Papyrus' eyes grew wide. Then his face became a mask of determination and he wiped them away, getting to his feet after successfully prying himself from his brother. he scampered off into the kitchen, leaving Sans to watch after him in confusion. We didn't have to wait long, for a few minutes later he came back in toting a dark, bottled liquid._

_"I HAVE BROUGHT YOU YOUR FAVORITE DRINK. NOW DRINK AND BE HAPPY." He plopped himself down in Sans' lap, shoving the_ soy sauce _into his hands. I felt my stomach twist slightly, my thoughts incredulous._ He drinks... soy sauce?  _Sans chuckled, which turned into full on, deep laughter before bringing it to his teeth. I tried to fight back the nausea I felt as he grew content at the salty taste, almost metaphorically puking when he put the now-empty bottle down, wiping at his mouth._

 _"gee, thanks bro. that was real nice of ya. i_ mustard _given you quite the scare if you're bringing me soy sauce. you don't normally like me drinking the stuff."_

_Papyrus groaned quietly, "REALLY SANS? PUNS RIGHT NOW?"_

_"oh come on paps._ mayo _i do a few more? i get such a kick out of them." Papyrus only buried his face in Sans' jacket, leaving the older skeleton to chuckle and bring a hand to his younger brother's head._

*****

That's when I woke up, the sound of a crackling fire reaching my ears. I sighed softly before opening my eyes, the last image of Papyrus' smiling face dissipating but leaving behind a soft feeling of joy. I'm glad he was okay. I realize it would have been a few years since that incident, but something told me Sans has protected him to this day. I bet the kid didn't have a scratch on him.

Speaking of the older skeleton, he was snoring. Pretty loudly too. Rolling my head over so I could look at him, I watched him for a long while. He was still slouched up against the bricks of the fireplace, his head buried in the fur of his hood and his arms crossed across his chest. He looked so... peaceful. I still felt a little bit of uncertainty towards him, but now that I knew he had the ability to be gentle... I pushed the blankets off me and got to my feet as quietly as possible. Thankfully, it didn't seem like I had gotten any bad frostbite tonight, my feet their normal pale shade. I could sneak around without fear of my feet failing me. I had gotten pretty good at creeping around on the surface.

I went over to the wardrobe where I had seen him remove my blanket, finding a thinner cover laying on the bottom.. It wasn't exactly cold, and I would have to guess that his spot by the fireplace was the warmest, but his pants didn't look very dry yet and there was a small breeze in the room. I didn't want him to be cold. 

Approaching him was the worst part. I kept expecting his eyes to snap open or for him to lift me again using his magic, but he never stirred. That's when I noticed the bags under his eyes. They were quite dark, so much so that I didn't understand why I hadn't seen them earlier. I guess we both have nightmares then. Or maybe he just has a hard time sleeping? I cut off my thoughts as I came to a halt in front of him. As carefully as possible, I draped the cover over his legs and attempted to spread it out evenly. Once I found myself mostly successful, I retreated to my spot on the couch, laying back and turning away. I felt rather embarrassed for some reason, but I didn't really mind. Hopefully he wouldn't get mad about the blanket, though I'm not sure why he would.

I decided to have faith, letting my eyes close and forcing sleep over my exhausted body. This time, it went without an interruption.


	13. The Start of...Something.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans' POV
> 
> It will only continue to grow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be returning to my other story for a little while. Please be patient and wait for me! 
> 
> As always, feel free to ask questions!

_My eyes opened to reveal nothing but darkness. Confused, I glanced around, finding it nearly impossible to move my head. It felt heavier than normal, my thoughts slow and groggy. I managed to make out the shadows of my surroundings, realizing that the fire must have gone out, but my vision was blurry and I fought to refocus my eyes. It was deathly cold, the floor seeming to suck out the limited warmth in my legs._ Wait.... _My eyes widened as I felt my body shiver. I could feel the cold. Since when?  
_

_A strangled, high-pitched whimper left my lips, my body shifting, but without my consent, sending a panicked feeling through my chest. I couldn't seem to control anything, my arms and legs twisting as my body propped itself up. My breathing was harsh and it felt like my chest was going to explode, I couldn't catch my breath. Shaking hands rose to my face, chilly fingers rubbing at the squishy parts of my eyes. I would have flinched at the discovery had I had control. Since when did I have fleshy bits?  
_

_Eventually, the touches stopped, hands going back to rest on my chest as I reopened my eyes. I expected to see the familiar surroundings of the sentry station, but instead I was greeted by blank, gray walls and cardboard boxes. The ground was littered with dust, normal dust to my great relief, trash, and dirt._

_"Hello?" The voice startled me more than anything. It was rather high-pitched, reminding me of when Paps was younger but feminine. And it came from my opened mouth. Head twisting, I actually got to get a quick look at my body. Needless to say, it wasn't my body. It was a human's. Somehow, I probably should have figured that out sooner._

_A strange sort of comfort washed through me. I wasn't sure how to explain it really, but it was sort of relaxing to know I hadn't been kidnapped in my sleep. Or murdered by a little threat sleeping a few feet away. Yet, after everything I had seen so far of the human's memories, fear still drifted into my soul. This connection was bringing to many problems into the equation. I didn't need to know this girl's life story, and by the way things were going I really didn't want to experience them either._

_"Mommy? Daddy?" God, just how young were they? She sounded less than ten, no more than seven probably. I tried to keep her feelings of terror at bay as our connection fluctuated. I could feel her lungs contracting painfully as she drew in a staggered breath. It felt like something was clogging her throat, making it hard for me as well. I didn't know how humans did it. Without air, they were completely useless. At this point, despite my increasing dizziness, curiosity bloomed in my chest. Just what was going on here?_

_I tried to focus on what she was feeling, letting the aches and pains breech through the barrier I had instinctively created between what was happening to her and my own consciousness. I immediately had to back track, surprised at the heat and chills that simultaneously washed over me. She felt terrible and it was easy, despite my limited knowledge of humans, to tell that she was sick. Monsters barely ever became ill, but we all were sick at least once, and trust me. You never forgot it. Monster illnesses were typically deadly , so were humans the same way?  
_

_The human coughed quietly, a weak and watery sound that made me cringe. It felt like her throat was on fire. Pity began to build up in my stomach, a vile reminder that something inside me was disgusted with the fact that I didn't know half of the stuff I thought I did about humans. Why was this girl, Frisk, laying on a hard concrete floor if she was so sick? If I could tell then surely her parents could as well.  
_

_The sounds of distant voices made me pause, registering them as well as the growing sense of fright in Frisk's soul. It was starting to become a little too familiar for my liking._

_Then the door I hadn't seen earlier swung open, blinding both the human and myself. The room was flushed with light. I heard her whimper, which was instantly met with the sound of an irritated sigh. A man spoke up harshly, "Here she is."_

_"You've locked her in your basement?!" The voice was softer than the first one, but I could hear the underlying disappointment in it. My uncertainty started to swell, revolted at the thought that this child was locked up instead of being cared for. I had never heard of such a thing.  
_

_"Well, what else am I supposed to do with this useless thing?! You tell me what's wrong with her and I'll be sure to put her to work when you're done!" My gut twisted at the male voice, his words sending mixed emotions through my soul. I wasn't sure which were the human's or which were mine, but the overwhelming fear was surely the child's._

_One of the two men entered the room without another word and bent down to run his hands down Frisk's chest, her fevered eyes gazing at him as he did. I could tell she wanted nothing to do with him, but she was to weak too fight back. The man barely had any hair, his scalp shining in the little light. He had an ugly face with a scarred nose, his cheeks red and blotchy. The smell was the worst part, though, his hot breath making me gag. Everything he wore reeked of alcohol._

_He would pause every once in a while, instructing as he went for her to, "take in a deep breath," and, "raise your arm so I can feel your pulse." By the end of it, I was getting really sick of this man and his wandering hands, especially after they dropped a little too far south. I felt Frisk's heart jump into her throat, both our souls beating a little faster until he moved on, standing and turning to face the older man behind him. I knew this man was the father, and that he had seen, but he obviously didn't care by the way he waved, demanding information._

_The doctor sighed, rubbing at his eyes. "She has pneumonia. She'll need treatment if she's gonna get better. I can-"_

_"No. You agreed to do what you could." The father growled his words through clenched teeth, sending another wave of ice through Frisk's veins. Her stomach clenched painfully.  
_

_"The kid needs an actual hospital-"_

_"Well then, I guess she's finally getting out of my hair." The father turned away, leaving my disbelief and anger to fester. If I had been able, I would have thrown him a couple of times against the walls for good measure. That son of a bitch.  
_

_"Wait! Here, give her this. It'll help... Just take it."  The friend started instantly, on his feet and chasing after Frisk's father. In his hands, I could just make out a little orange bottle.  
_

_The father froze and I saw him slump a little before he turned and patted the man on the shoulder. The displeasure in his voice made my soul ache for the chance to pummel him. "See? You're a certified doc already. You don't need that damn sheet of paper." The friend mumbled something I didn't catch. Frisk was fading, her hearing dropping in and out. Our vision went black for a moment, leaving me to shudder. God, this kid was screwed up. I could feel liquid in her lungs, sloshing around and leaving behind a feeling of exhaustion.  
_

_"Hey," something hard hit her in the face, making her jerk. Eyes fluttering open, I tried to glare daggers at the man, friend having already left, but Frisk only struggled to sit up._

_"I'm s-sorry daddy..."  Her words set me off. Having only heard her twice, I was more than ready to believe that the girl had always talked with her hands, but this proved that she hadn't. What had her family done to her?_ What are you sorry for?! _I wanted to scream, shout, or do anything to make her see that this was wrong. Even I know that parents should love their children. How could humans do this? They were even worse than I thought, but then... Hell, I hated humans, but how could Frisk think this was any of her fault. What could she have possibly done to deserve this?! She was sick! Somehow, I got the feeling that she had done absolutely nothing but coughed or maybe vomited. But, in all honesty, what did I know? Maybe those were just her thoughts on the matter? However, when I searched her thoughts, well... What I saw made me want to throw up. There was so much hatred there... And it was all directed at herself.  
_

_I tried to force myself no to care. Why was I defending this girl I had only just met? Why did I care what her parents had done? Why?_

_The father spoke one last time, yanking me violently from my downhill thoughts, "Shut up, brat. Those are your meds. Take them every once in a while." He started towards the door of the basement, peering back over his shoulder to glare at his cowering kid. Waves of malice practically dripped from the guy. But he said nothing as the door slammed shut behind him, leaving Frisk crying softly in the dark, her sobs broken by the harsh sound of water gurgling in her throat.  
_

_*****_

The feeling of something warm pulled me from the darkness, soft footsteps making me freeze. My magic boiled under the surface, freed now that my mind had returned to my body, stretching throughout every limb and joint I had. God, I had never been more relieved to feel these old bones in my entire life. The heavy feeling had disappeared from my chest, all signs of sickness gone in an instant now that I was back in my own 'clothes'. 

The sound of shuffling mixed with that of the crackling fire, my eyes opening to watch as the hu-Frisk- flipped over to face the back of the couch. I felt my eyes narrow as I started to sit up, old suspicions returning. _What had she been doing?_ Then something pooled at my feet, making me stop.

My gaze fell to the blanket, then back to the sleeping girl. I could hear her snoring, little sounds that barely echoed around the room. A part of me soared when there was no sign of the weak, moist breathing of the memory. Another part of me fought to crush that. I couldn't do this for much longer. The inner conflict would kill me, this sympathy, fear, and anger almost all consuming. I was mortified at myself for wanting to reach out to her and hold her to my chest. I was here to kill her, but the dream made me want to show her that it wasn't all like that. Not everyone was like that. My mind flashed back to the words I had spoken to her when she fought with Blooky.

I wasn't like that.

But why wasn't **she** like that? How could she not be as cruel as the people who raised her? As her father. I wanted to ask her. Demand her to explain herself to me.

Instead, all I did was settle back down, slowly pulling the blanket back over my form. It was a long while until my vision faltered and disappeared, a peaceful sleep washing over me. It was probably the best rest I'd had in months.

I had never felt warmer, the cover a nice addition to the warmth of the fire.

 


	14. Time to Teleport

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk's POV. 
> 
> How many times will the fear return?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND OMG IT TOOK FOREVER FOR ME TO RETURN. I'm so sorry! My book was being more than a tad bit difficult! But no worries! I'll be posting again now, even though it'll be a little difficult with finals being here now! Wish me luck, even though Frisk needs it a lot more than I do.

**BANG!**

The noise sent me crashing to the floor, my weak yet peaceful sleep vanishing like mist. Heart beat sky rocketing, my breathing became short as I tried to scramble backwards, the blankets around my legs keeping me from moving even an inch. The sound of scratching echoed around the room, heavy footsteps drawing increasingly close. Frantically, I looked up, my vision fading black around the edges as my lungs shouted.

Everything stopped. _No. No no no no no! Not him! How did he-_ A gruff cough blocked out my thoughts, the sound sending me into my deepest nightmares as the robed person stepped out of the shadows. I felt the scream building in my throat grow stuck and I shivered, tears falling down my face. I recognized those shoulders. That build. My gaze locked onto the pair of brown eyes hidden within the confines of the hood, the ones that searched me out and stared me down. The thick stubble on his chin made him look drenched in shadows, his eyebrows drawn together in frustration as he sniffed, taking a tentative step towards me.

A flash of sliver made my heart stop. I didn't have to look to identify the knife in his grasp. The scream finally escaped my mouth, but it was more of a strangled yelp and sob then anything. The man lunged forward instantly, the sharp steel aimed straight for my chest. I forced my body through the ice in my veins, dragging myself back with all the strength I had, nails digging into the floorboards. He missed, but he only inched closer, the smell of pine and smoke sticking to him like cologne. Thank god there was no alcohol mixed in, the brief thought of trying to talk to him springing into my mind. Opening my mouth, the only thing to come out was a short cry as he slashed my arm, the wicked, twisted blade sending fire through my body. My back hit the wall.

He rose the knife over his head, early morning light streaming through the open door and reflecting off the steel, sending splashed of light dancing across the walls. Then he was gone, the space in front of me eerily empty. I couldn't look away, though, gaze stuck on the air where his face used to be. I felt myself shaking, my body demanding air I couldn't give. My vision started to swirl, everything going out of focus, a inky blackness crawling unchecked across my sight. I didn't notice the hands on my shoulders until a flash of purple drew me out of my hellish mind, my chest growing warm as something reached out for my soul.

"human!" Sans?

"human, breathe! right now!" Why was he...?

"you little brat! if you die- just breathe god damn it!" I'm trying but...

"with me. focus here." He moved my hand and I felt something soft under my touch, a familiar energy humming beneath the surface. I focused on the heat that graced my palm, letting it flow through me, and ever so slowly my vision cleared, breathing returning to normal. Raising my eyes to meet Sans', the tears on his face startled me. Dark violet, they trailed down his face and left behind glowing, wet paths. He didn't seem to notice as he searched my face, gaze turning relieved as he realized I wasn't going to be suffocating myself. My brows drew together as I rose an uncertain had to his face, wiping at his damp cheeks. He flinched away, leaving my hand floating in mid air. Blinking, I brought it down slowly before turning my face away from him. Neither of us decided to speak.

Instead, I glanced around, finding a crumpled figure with my eyes. The fear spiked in my chest again, but it was like something was keeping it at bay, heavy exhaustion pulling my eyelids down. Now that the warmth had vanished from under my hand, the heat had been replaced with a numbness that was spreading faster than I could manage. So, my initial reaction was a blank, empty look despite the newly revealed features of my attacker.

The hood had fallen away from the man's head, revealing dark brown fur and scarred patches of skin. His face was turned upwards, even though his eyes were closed, his nose twitching at the end of his white and brown snout. Tilting my head slightly in confusion, it took me a moment to realize that he wasn't my- the man I thought he was. He was a dog.

A heavy huff of air made me flinch, my eyes going back to watch Sans fall to the ground with a loud thud. "damn it doggo... you and that nose of yours. I knew I shoulda covered our trail or something... but we're still so far out from snowden..." I said nothing, my thoughts still too jumbled to make out or understand any of his words. Right now they were going in one ear and right out the other.

It took a while, an awkward silence taking over the room as both of us got lost in our thoughts, but eventually Sans got up and grabbed my arm, pulling me up with him. "come on human. we gotta get while the going's good. doggo's a pawsome dude, but i don't think you can handle him in your state."

I could've sworn I heard him say, "neither can i," but I really wasn't sure. I didn't understand this skeleton at all. Wouldn't it be easier if he just let Doggo kill me? He really seemed to want to.

I didn't get the chance to ask him much, though, because a second later we were back in the snow and I was struggling to get Sans to release me. I could tell he tried to ignore my silent protests, but thankfully I won out, my icy toes screaming painfully. He looked back at me with distaste before he drew his arm back and allowed me to run back into the cabin, my trembling fingers grabbing my boots and floundering to tie the laces.

The longer I took the more nervous I got. Doggo kept shifting in his sleep, and Sans was pacing in front of the open door. I had just managed to finish one, after almost six minutes, when my other foot was jerked forward, my body falling backwards into the couch. I yelped as a sharp pain laced throughly arm, looking down to see Sans with my boot on his knee and his fingers tying the laces into tight knots that made the top of my foot ache. I didn't have the nerve to tell him to loosen them.

"there, now that we're not tied up, let's get going." He didn't really give me much of a choice, yanking me up and out of the room. We were buried in snow in seconds, the freshly fallen powder higher than it was the night before. It stopped just above my knees, but it was just as hard to move through, if not more so. Glancing around, I saw the path Doggo must've taken to reach the cabin, and it looked like the dog monster had done his best to make some sort of trench. It would have made an awesome pathway, but of course it just had to be going in the opposite direction from where Sans was leading me. My frustrated thoughts were only solidified when I tripped over a branch that was hidden in the snow, landing face first and nearly pulling Sans down with me.

"oh for fucks sake," I winced as his grasp tightened around my wrist, suddenly finding myself back on my feet, covered head to toe in white. I tried to sign 'sorry' but didn't get the chance, Sans' arms going around my shoulder. I flushed, but the embarrassment faded extremely quickly as dizziness overcame me, the ground feeling as though it had disappeared from beneath me. If my stomach had anything in it, I was sure it would have come back up in a flourish. Thankfully, the feeling stopped quickly, but Sans released me before I could get my bearings, the world spinning as I went to my knees. I heaved, the world around me static to my ears. Sans shook my shoulder a little bit, but he didn't push it for once.

Trying to force my lungs back under my control, my muscles felt weighed down. Who knew having a panic attack and doing whatever the hell Sans just did could make a person want to sleep for twenty years? I honestly could have guessed.

"human, we need to hurry, ya know? it'd be nice if you'd stop kissin' the snow. I got us pretty far, but we still have a little bit of a walk," I merely let out a weak chuckle, managing to sit back on my heels.

Two seconds later a wave of powder covered my head, the sound of a heavy thump echoing around me eerily. I heard Sans draw in a sharp breath, but my eyes were glued to the neon green tie staring me in the face.

 


	15. So Close and Yet So Far

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans' POV.
> 
> Just what were you running from? There's another question that's demanding attention, though. 
> 
> What will you being running from soon?

Needless to say, if I were to tell myself anything at that moment it would be that not killing the human right away was a mistake. First, she acted like some innocent know-it-all that wouldn't hurt a god damn fly, then she led Doggo right to us with that stench of her's, and, just to add in something new, she was too incompetent to move through the god-forsaken snow without bringing me down with her.

Add on the nightmares and you had the icing on the cake. Getting woken up via a hyperventilating human was never fun, but then you had the fact that her fear moved to me, clogging up my soul with images of swinging fists and incoming kicks. By the time my eyes were open all the way I couldn't breathe or think and before I knew what I was doing Doggo was unconscious and my eye was glowing. 

All in all, it had been one fuckin' terrible morning, topped off by a certain someone stumbling out of a tree and nearly landing right on top of the human's head, sending my already frantic soul into overdrive.

My arm shot out, grabbing onto the human's wrist once more as my magic flared, panic flowing unchecked through my bones. _I wouldn't give her the chance to hurt him._ In response, the world blurred and twisted, my name echoing in my ears as everything reformed a second later, snow and trees greeting us like always. It wasn't like the scenery was ever going to change. At least, not yet. I wasn't strong enough after teleporting twice.

It seemed the girl wasn't either. She instantly pushed away from me as everything came to a halt, her body cowering in the snow as she heaved. A small prickle of guilt pushed through my annoyance as I took a step back, watching her try to force something out of her stomach. I knew what it was like to teleport multiple times in a row; I'd had the same reaction when I'd first started my little 'trick', but it had always been bad when I jumped more than once in a short amount of time. Hell, I was already near exhaustion as it was.

I forced the feeling away, though, shoving my pity deep into my soul. It couldn't be helped. There was no way I would let her near my brother. I knew, _knew_ , that behind that goody-two-shoes act there was the monster that my father always talked about. Just because she'd spared every monster so far didn't mean anything. She'd only faced off with, like, three or four monsters anyway. I couldn't believe I even considered she could be anything else but a normal human. Pretending could only get you so far, and in my eyes, she'd already reached her end.

"hey. get up." She shook her head, not even looking at me as I spoke. My anger flared just slightly, "i said, **get up.** " Another head shake, but she seemed to shuffle backward a little bit, sitting on her knees. She held her arms out to the side, letting me see her hands.

 **"I can't. Please, just give me a second."** Her hands were trembling, but it was probably just from the cold. It was simply a part of her performance.

I took a measured step closer, clenching my teeth together. "no. we have to move. they'll be searching for us. we can't just _flake_ around." I attempted to make a joke, trying to be a little bit comforting, but it sounded extremely flat, even to my ears. As expected, she didn't move and I dropped my signature smile, reaching forward and yanking her around. "would you fuckin-" The look on her face made my soul still. the rest of my sentence catching in my throat.

Tears dripped from her eyes, mixing with the small amount of spit that still coated her lips from her effort to vomit. Her eyes were unfocused, nose a running mess, and face so red it looked like those cherry-fruit things from the human story books. Her terror flowed through my bones, my soul echoing with it, making me tremble and stumble backward as I released her, falling onto my backside. Breathing hitching, we just stared at one another for a long time, her fear so palpable that I'm sure the very trees were shrinking back to try and get out of view. You didn't have to be soul bonded with her to notice it and let me tell you, you didn't want to be. The sheer fright pumping through us both was almost enough to send Undyne packing if she were here.

Shaking my head as her hands slowly rose again, my unfocused vision managed to narrow in on her movements. I had to fight back a flinch as I noticed how much worse her shaking had become. It was just the cold.

 **"Please. Just a moment."** I only turned my head, managing a small grunt through my suddenly clogged throat. Even out of my gaze, her eyes stayed in my mind. Brown pools of strict sorrow with a black, empty island at the center. They haunted me, reminding me of the dream I'd had the night before. I could still remember the feeling of her sickness, crawling through her veins like a parasite, and the hopelessness that came with the words of the men. I remembered the bursts of dread and alarm that I could still feel even to this moment. I remembered waking up to her putting a blanket around my body, returning to bed without a peep. The warmth I felt despite having no skin to feel it with.

I didn't understand anything anymore.

It took me a moment to recognize the feeling of someone pulling on my jacket sleeve, the action pulling me out of my trance. I was almost afraid to look, letting my eyes fall back to her hands. I just... I couldn't bring myself to meet her gaze. Thankfully, they were much steadier now, her fingers moving with practiced ease, **"I am ready now."**

I was barely able to nod let alone stand but I succeeded anyway, trying to ignore the fact that she used my arm to help her get to her feet. I was pretty busy dealing with my relief at the moment, though. Her panic was finally returning to where it belonged. Her soul and not mine. I still didn't have it in me to shake her off, my mind slow and dare-I-say, heavy with guilt, but I did mutter a few curses under my breath at the situation. It made me feel a tad bit better.

I kept my eyes on the forest, figuring out just where we had ended up before allowing myself to relax. We weren't that far from Snowden. Thank Asgore. Yet, my mouth continued to feel like it was filled with cotton, voice soft and raspy despite my attempt to straighten it, "this way." She hummed quietly in agreement as I lead her forward, but it didn't last long. We hadn't even made it two feet before she tumbled, my eyes registering her rush to straighten herself, the muscles in her back stiff and unyielding. The shaking was back. Something strong pulled at my soul and I sighed quietly, eye flashing once more. She seemed to recognize my magic immediately, flinching as the glow of it reflected off her hair. I struggled to keep the sight from bothering me as I finished my task.

As commanded, the snow had parted for us, the new path twisting off into the distance and disappearing into the trees. I'd have to stop to do it again, but this should at least speed things up a bit. If we hurried then we could even make it to Snowdin before the afternoon storms set in. Without a word, I started walking again, feeling rather than seeing her hands slip from my jacket as she stared at my back, her gaze like a hot coal burning a hole in my spine. "let's go human. stop wasting time," I tried to keep the small quiver out of my tone as I glanced back at her, meeting her confused look with an even expression. It appeared to work, the girl shaking herself out of whatever daze she was in and scurrying after me.

We didn't speak again, the trees closing in overhead and the only sound between us that of the crunching snow under our feet.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	16. Stormy Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk's POV
> 
> Puff balls and a storm. Jesus Sans, gain some weight.

In some ways, the silence was a welcomed calm to the small storm swirling in my chest. The guilt and fear were overwhelming. Just standing near Sans was setting every one of my hairs on end, but I knew I couldn't exactly take off running. He could teleport for God's sake. I'd make it a grand total of three inches in this snow before he'd have me again.

Not to mention the fact that I had no idea where I was. It wasn't like I had a map or something. Excuse me for assuming that when I jumped into that damn hole I wasn't really going to be going anywhere. I certainly would've packed some warmer clothes if I had. Besides, if I got away-- and that was a big if-- I would simply freeze to death. So no, running wasn't really an option. I wasn't stupid, despite what some people said. Just desperate.

It was just that... I wasn't even sure what to think about the skeleton. From his memories I could see that he wasn't a bad person. He could be pretty scary, though, especially when his eye was lit up. I didn't know what it was, but it always sent a shiver down my spine. It was like he was electrifying the air around us. If I really thought about it I could probably tie it back to my parents. I wasn't use to magic, considering they were always against people using it in the first place. It wasn't like it was an everyday occurrence anyway, but from what I knew there were some people in the major cities that used it for medical purposes. Healing new diseases and such. I never understood how my parents could hate it so much if it was doing good, but hate it they did, and they made sure to tell me time and time again that if they ever caught me practicing it they'd punish me worse than they ever had.

I wasn't so desperate to break that rule. Maybe that was why I could muster up all my willpower to keep myself here. Or maybe it was the security I'd felt in that dream with his little brother.   

"human." I jumped at his deep voice, my head shooting up before I could stop it. Needless to say, I wasn't expecting him to say anything more since he had been avoiding me to his best ability, keeping a good distance between the two of us. Hell, I'd been trying too. Yet, our eyes met for a split second before I dropped my gaze. If I had waited a bit longer I would've seen him do the same. "come on. keep up." A part of me wanted to hear one of his puns he seemed to enjoy making, and my heart fell a little when they didn't come. They always made that tense, awkward atmosphere fade just a tad, and he always seemed to perk up when he joked around. I wasn't ashamed to admit I was fond of seeing him that way. The way he acted around Papyrus. It was strange but... watching him unwind and play around with his little brother made my chest ache in envy whilst also swell with warmth. I wished I could have had even a semblance of that.

A large gust of wind blew through the trees, shaking the naked branches and sending a cascade of snowflakes into the air. I caught myself staring as they distracted me, the strange light dancing across their icy surfaces. They reminded me of these fairies I'd read about in a book my father had hidden from me under the floorboards of his room. My parents had always tried to keep me from knowing anything about the outside world, hiding anything of value where they thought I would never find it. To bad I'd always had too much time on my hands, exploring every inch of the house whilst both him and my mother were out. You'd be surprised what I had been able to find. Books on magic, hunters, and history. If they wouldn't teach me, then I had determined that I would do it for them. I had taught myself of the old existence of Monsters and the magic they carried. The fear that had driven mankind to sealing them away for all eternity. The methods used to wipe out even the smallest communities and the hunters that would track down even the strongest boss Monsters. 

A part of me had believed that all the Monsters had perished in the prison that held them, wherever it had been. A part of me felt lucky that they hadn't.

But even more of me wished they had. A dark, selfish part of me that had hate swirling in my gut for ever thinking such a thing. So many of them were kind to me.

Then there came a high-pitched chattering noise. It slowly pulled me from my dark thoughts, my blurry eyes coming back into focus. Sans appeared to have not noticed it, eye and hand glowing violet, his magic swirling the snow out of our path like he had done before. My gaze traveled from him over all the trees, fighting to see through the snow that only seemed to fall in thicker clumps. At first, I hadn't seen anything, until a dark, furry form raced past my face, sending me to the ground with a squeak. Powder flew around me, but not before even more of the figures, just shadowy shapes in the snowfall, came hurling at me. I heard Sans curse as I sealed my eyes shut, waiting for the incoming impact.

It never came, though, the only change being that the feeling of icy, wet snow hitting my skin slowly came to a halt. Gradually, I let my eyes open, the sight in front of me causing me to stare.

The creatures were small, coming to my knees had I been standing. Their bodies were nothing more than white fluff, making them resemble extremely large cotton balls. I could just barely make out their arms and legs, sliver against the pure white. The strangest part about them, however, were their eyes. Similar to the short fur on their arms and legs, their irises were sliver, but there were mini bursts of blue and amber spread throughout. It was nothing more than dazzling, the light of the Underground bouncing off the colors and making it seem as though they were shifting about. 

I felt my head tilt in wonder, a hesitant hand raising before I could stop it. As if to encourage my actions, one of the small monsters shuffled forward, placing itself directly beneath my hand. Carefully, my fingers lowered, flinching as the creature stretched up to meet my touch. My mouth nearly dropped open. It was so soft, so similar to the silk dress my mother had above. I couldn't help myself, my entire hand going to stroke the monster's head. It was then that I heard the purring and realized that that the puffball was vibrating under my touch. It brought a smile to my face. At this, all the others seemed to realize that they too wanted attention, flying at me with tiny wings I hadn't noticed before. One by one, they attached themselves to me, and soon I was nothing more than a vibrating pile of fluff.

I couldn't help myself as I started to laugh, the sound high and wavering. I tried not to talk, so laughter was also something on my list of things not to do, yet it came easily. The little creatures' fur would brush against the skin of my neck, tickling me into submission instantly. The purring and chattering became louder by the second, enveloping me completely. I didn't notice that they were speaking until a rather piercing voice echoed uncomfortably in my ear, cutting off my giggles with a yelp.

"It's a human! A human! And it's so cute! Look at her hair and her skin and all the little hairs-" They were all repeating one another continuously, their enthusiasm so great it was starting to spread to my soul.

My hands came up quickly, my signing slightly erratic, **"Hello."** They didn't appear aware of my hand movements, but they didn't seem to like the fact that I had stopped stroking them. One flew up to grab at my fingers, dragging it back to it's soft body.

"It likes us! It likes us! Maybe we can take it back home and mom can let us keep it!" Mom? So these were children? Now that I really thought about it, their excitement did remind me of how kids would behave.

I tried again, **"Of course you-"**

"No! Don't take away your hand! We want you to stay with us!" I winced at the sharp scream that resounded around the clearing. Suddenly, something didn't feel right, my head spinning as the monsters' voice climbed in pitch. I tried to instinctively pull away, but they followed, pulling on my clothes. Yelping, I started to struggle, but I didn't want to hurt them so all my attempts only added up to me weakly kicking at the moving lumps on my legs. I glanced over to the last place I'd seen Sans, only to see him writhing on the ground. Eyes widening, I drug myself a little closer to him, coming to a halt after I could just barely make out the sheer pain on his face.

It was as if this had unlocked something inside of me, a screech tearing itself from my throat as hot pain lanced through my skull. It was suddenly so much worse. The chattering wasn't so cute now, each sound resembling that of someone dragging their nails up a chalkboard. I had to make them stop. I _needed_ to make them stop.

"H-Hey-" They didn't hear me, my words raspy and quiet, easily covered by their squealing.

I tried to get louder, flinching when my voice cracked, "Excuse me!" Still nothing, the ringing in my head causing me to groan and curl in on myself. I was dimly aware of my arms covering my head.

"Stop it!" And silence. More than a dozen eyes came to rest on my face, the only sound Sans and my own harsh breathing. I wanted to get Sans' attention, maybe he's know what to do, but my body felt weighed down. Instead, despite the bad taste it left in my mouth, I attempted to convince them on my own. "Please... can you keep your voice down?"

"But why?!" I flinched and heard Sans yelp over the chorus of voices.

Shakily, I tried to respond with even an ounce of strength in my tone. "Your... your voices are so pretty but-"

"But what!" Another cry came from my former captor, mixing with my own.

"Please!" They wouldn't listen, their voices beginning to rise once more as they fluttered around, tugging on my arms and legs. I started to twist under them, the pain spreading throughout my entire body. A warm liquid dripped onto my hands from their place on my ears. 

I couldn't take it anymore. "STOP IT!" My shout cracked at the end, but I put as much force as I could behind my words. Thankfully, everything came to a halt once more, leaving me panting and sprawled in the snow. Tears built up uninvited in my eyes as I finally managed to maneuver myself out from under all the small monsters. For some odd reason they didn't follow me, not that I wasn't happy about that, but it gave me a reprieve, letting the ringing in my ears die out.

"Why don't you like us?" The question made me wince and I was barely able to raise my head to look behind me. The monsters' were slouched over, shoulders limp, looking about as defeated as anyone could.

I rushed to comfort them, shuddering at my croaky voice, "I do like you, but your voices can be kinda loud. I... I have a headache! Do you think I could come back later and play with you?"

After a moment they seemed to perk up a bit, glancing between one another. The original one, or at least the one I thought was the original one, fluttered forward. "You mean it?"

"O-Of course I do!" Once more they appeared to come to a consensus just by looking at one another.

"Okay! We'll see you later then?" I only had the energy to nod, sagging back into the snow in relief as all the fluffy balls took to the air and disappeared into the snow, which had suddenly started to pour down from above as if someone had been holding back the storm for whatever interaction had just occurred. To my surprise, once all the creatures had vanished, the last thing to remain was my soul, floating a few inches from the ground. Confusion washed through me.  _Was that a battle? Why hadn't I seen those button things from before?_ Nobody answered, of course, and with wide eyes I watched as the small heart came toward me, a familiar tingle passing through me as it moved into my chest, the violet-red glow sputtering out as it disappeared.

Instantly, I felt stronger, managing to push myself onto my knees, then my feet. Despite being slightly unsteady, I found that after I stood I felt ten times better than I had while sitting. I didn't even feel the slightest bit dizzy. 

Brushing the remaining snow off my clothes I jumped at the tiny groan that echoed around the clearing. What was that I said about not feeling sick? A sudden wave of nausea and dread pooled in my stomach as I slowly turned, just making out Sans' jacket through what was starting to become a blizzard.

He wasn't moving, still laying sprawled out on the snow, the dark colors of his coat standing out starkly against the white powder. Biting my lip, I glanced around. I wasn't sure how his presence slipped my mind, but now... My eyes came to rest on the new path the skeleton had made before the smaller monsters had arrived. I could just go, follow this path wherever it was he had planned to go. Maybe some other monster would be kinder, offer shelter and care till I figured out what to do. I could try and find Napstablook again. Just the thought of his nice words made my soul soar.

As if he could her my thoughts, there came another pained moan from the lump of fur and bones. Almost as if the world had decided to give a response, the wind began to howl, bringing with it wave after wave of snow, ice, and cold. Guilt pumped through me as I shivered, and I sighed heavily, my feet moving toward Sans before I could change my mind. 

Fighting against the growing snowstorm, I was barely able to make it to Sans without falling over, the breeze becoming something similar to a truck trying to run me over. Thankfully, at least that's what I told myself, I managed to come to a stop, standing over him. I took in his strangely pale bones and pained, creased forehead. His eyes, which had been clenched shut, snapped open at my approach, but the lights inside were blurry and unfocused. I'm not even sure he could really see me.

I still tried to sign, **"I'm going to move you, okay?"** There was no change in his expression, but he shifted, as though he were trying to escape. I took in a deep breath, letting the chilled air scorch my throat. It was time to do it. For some reason, I felt like this wasn't going to be as easy as I thought it'd be.

Reaching down, despite the fear bubbling deep in my gut, I pulled Sans' arm around my shoulder. He instantly tried to wiggle out of my grasp, twisting his body weakly, but it was scary how feeble he'd become in such a short amount of time. I had no problem holding onto him as he fought against me, but his struggles started to die down after a moment, his head going grudgingly to my shoulder. It was then I started to appreciate how light he was. I mean, he was literally all bones, but I could have sworn he would have been heavier than a small child. He had to weigh less than, like, 60 pounds at most. 

As I started to stand, his voice rumbled against my neck, causing my body to stiffen, "damn whimsums." _Whimsums, huh?_ Guess I could finally put a name to the small creatures.

But really, what the hell was I doing? This guy had been less than friendly toward me and yet... I couldn't bring myself to leave him here. Sure, he was a skeleton, but that didn't mean he wouldn't die in this storm, which was now whipping my hair every which way and numbing my body to the point where I couldn't even tell where he started and I began. All I knew was that I could save him, and after years of wanting to be saved myself...

Determination filled my soul.

I just had to put one foot in front of the other. How hard could it be?

.........

I never wanted to take back my words more than I had in that one moment. It took forever to drag us both through the storm, our makeshift path quickly vanishing under the downpour of flurries. My legs were swiftly losing feeling, and I was sure that when I looked my skin would be blue in places. My hands and arms were suffering the same fate. As for Sans... he'd stopped moving a while ago. I had been so scared at first, until I felt his breath against the skin of my neck. Once again, I had to wonder why a skeleton had to breath, but now wasn't the time to think about that.

Instead I settled for being frustrated at the weather. We were underground for god's sake! How could it possibly snow, let alone be sunny or warm or anything but dark and cold? Well... I guess it had the cold part down, but still.

And then I was on my face. Whimpers leaving my lips, I struggled to push myself up, but my shaking arms gave out more than once, plunging me back into the snow every time. _Fuck. We were going to die out here._ The thought made something close to terror pulse through my veins, a single name fighting through the haze in my brain. _Papyrus._

I frowned. Papyrus? That was Sans' younger brother, why was I...? It clicked into place fairly quickly for my slowing brain. Those weren't my thoughts. Those were Sans'.

Well, you never make anything easy, do you Sans? I felt him stir slightly, but I was already pushing myself up, wincing at the sharp pains crawling up my arms. It took a while, but I accomplished resituating the skeleton's body, my hand gripping his arm tightly. Something resembling a growl left my lips as I forced my legs through the snow, my head down against the brunt of the wind.

And the next time I had the strength to look up, a mouth of a large cave stared me in the face, bright lights shining through the heaviest storm I had ever been in.


	17. Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk's POV. We're skipping Sans' for now cause he is kinda unconscious. Whoopsy. And I apologize for the long wait when the chapter is so short. I've had a bad case of writer's block. Thanks for being patient and I promise the next chapter will be out soon.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Four.

I was trying my best to not fall over. The snow was clinging to every inch of my clothes, weighing me down, making it so hard to pick up one foot let alone two. Even breathing was something that was starting to seem unimportant. My eyes were watering, tears sliding down my cheeks and freezing there. I couldn't be sure at this point, but it was starting to feel like my blood was doing the same.

Sans, who had originally seemed so light, was now a ten ton brick on my back. It took everything I had to shuffle forward another inch, advancing the best I could toward the shining lights in the distance. It didn't help that the biting wind kept forcing my head down, making me focus on the powder which was now up to my waist. If I fell, I knew I wouldn't be getting back up, whether Sans tried to convince me or not.

Leave it to me to do just that.

I don't know what I hit, but I hit it, face stinging from more than the cold as I tumbled backward, the powder eating me up. Black engulfed me and I'm ashamed to admit I let it. It had to be better than the intense, bone-level cold that left me so numb I couldn't even feel the need to care. Anything would be better at this point, even the fires of hell. All I wanted was to feel warm again, the shelter and heat from this morning seemed so long ago.

So, i just laid there, eyes closed and waiting. Sans had fallen from my shoulders; I hadn't seen where he'd landed. I doubt I would've been able to tell anyway with this blizzard. The flakes falling from the sky acted like a thick barrier, blocking everything from view. Even the normal sounds of the storm were amplified. It was like a tornado was all around me, a train barreling toward me with the intent of my own destruction. I almost didn't register the voice.

It was loud. Very loud. That was the first thing I realized. 

"SANS?" The next thing I was able to grasp was the fact that I recognized it. True, the last time I had heard it, it had been more shrill and childish, but there was no mistaking it. The voice just had a certain ring to it that you just couldn't forget.

Hands grabbed my shoulders, a gasp rung in my ears, making my head throb. "You're not Sans... You're a-!" I didn't hear the rest, the wind picking up to a loud howl. He continued to lift me and I recognized the feeling of arms surrounding me. It wasn't exactly comfortable, sharp edges digging into my back, but I couldn't fight it anyway. My limbs weren't cooperating. "Hold on... I'll get you..." 

I didn't understand most of what he was saying now, head laying limply against his chest as I was jostled about. Eventually, I registered the feeling of someone next to me, their body tucked against mine. I could only assume it was Sans. Relief washed through me at the thought, allowing me to go deeper into myself, the feeling of being jostled somewhat like being rocked. Everything dropped away.


	18. Unexpected Threats From Unexpected Sources

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans' POV. In which Sans makes a life changing decision. He just doesn't know that yet.
> 
> "I never meant to hurt you. That doesn't really matter. 'Cause in the end it hurts all the same."  
> -One Tree Hill

_The world swam in and out of focus, hazy figures dancing in my vision as my eyes cracked open. I was instantly overwhelmed with nausea. Groaning, I tried to move, but as soon as I did, pain lanced up my spine. Stomach protesting, I turned my head to the side and gagged, hot liquid filling my mouth. Managing to roll over, I started coughing, the bile leaving my lips as I cried out. Someone cursed above me, the voice echoing in my fevered mind, gruff and angry. Hands grabbed at my neck, shoulders, and clothes, dragging me across the floor, and all I could do is weakly accept it. It wasn't like I could stop them in my condition.  
_

_I didn't know what was happening, but I was scared. I'd felt this way so many times lately it was... it was starting to seem like it just didn't matter. Maybe this was supposed to be happening? Maybe I really did deserve-_

_I yelped, body flying through the air weightlessly before crashing hard into... some boxes? I think they were boxes. I couldn't really tell at first considering I couldn't breathe._

_The hands were back, roughly wiping at my face, making me whimper and weakly push at his chest. The person holding me down was too large and built to be a woman, but I doubt it would've made much difference. Two seconds after that my arms were pinned against my stomach, making it churn even more than it had been. Tears left cool paths on my face as I tried to focus on not puking all over the man's face. That wouldn't help anything._

_"You bitch... making a mess all over the floor." His hot breath attacked my face and I gagged smelling the alcohol. "If you weren't already such a useless heap, I'd make you behave yourself."  Fingers grasped my chin, forcing my head up as something was forced between my lips, cool liquid flowing down my throat._

_"This better work or I swear to God... I'll beat this shit outta ya."_

_*****_

I shot up, breathing wild. My hands instantly went to my throat and face, trying to wipe away the feeling of the man's hands. Anything to get rid of the grimy feeling crawling across my bones. I felt so filthy all of a sudden, shivers overtaking my body as I sniffled, unwelcomed tears dripping down my face. I wiped at them in frustration, coughing hard as I nearly gagged, recalling the way the man had behaved in almost vivid detail despite my exhaustion. One touch was enough to feel the heat my eye was giving off and one look around the room was enough to show that I was glowing pretty bright, purple flashes creating moving shadows along the walls. The scattered trash and clothes on my floor were floating haphazardly a few inches above the ground, occasionally jerking around to nearly crash into the wall.

Clenching the tangled, messy blankets between my fingers, I fought to calm myself, shoving the thoughts and memories from my skull. I forced my breathing to calm, taking a deep breath in, then out. In. Out. In and out. It took a while, but my breathing eventually evened out, leaving me a softly panting lump. Leaning back on my hands, I stared at the ceiling, feeling sweat drip from my chin as it slipped from my forehead and mixed with the remaining tear tracks.

This had to stop. I didn't know how much more I could take.

Swallowing one more time and gathering whatever strength I had left, I swung my legs over the side of the bed, successfully untangled from their warm bonds in a few seconds. Several bones popped as I did, adjusting to the sudden shifting of my muscles, and I rolled my neck, flinching at the sharp crack that echoed around the otherwise soft room. God, I must've slept in a weird position. I was so damn stiff.

Rubbing at my vertebra, I rose unsteadily to my feet, glancing around. Confusion made my brows crease. I hadn't really had time to process that I was suddenly in my bedroom what with the small panic attack and all. The last thing I remembered was being out with the human in that storm. _Just how did I..._ I struggled to think back, everything a dark blur. I assumed that she'd left me behind after the Whimsums attacked. Then somebody had found me and brought me home? I certainly remembered being carried. A list of people ran through my mind. Doggo being the top of the list, but one name stuck out. Maybe Papyrus found me?

The thought made my stomach churn and I groaned, hand going to knead my temples. If that was the case then I was in for quite the lecture. I had been so careful to avoid those lately. Of course, I had barely gotten the chance to talk to him lately. Guilt pumped through me. What a way to reconnect after a week, saving your older brother from freezing to death after he teleported away from you.

As if on cue, I made out quiet footsteps coming up the stairs. Starting forward, I reached out for the doorknob, not bothering to question the abnormal lack of sound Paps was making. Maybe if I acted normal and ate with him he'd forget about it or let me off the hook. Welp, it was worth a try anyway. I had nearly opened the door when the steps moved past my room, not even pausing as they continued their near silent trek. Baffled, I tilted my head to the side, slowly pushing the door open a crack to see just where Paps was going. Typically, especially if I was hurt, he'd check on me several times before he went to sleep. My stomach dropped as I watched his retreating form, the black suit hanging off his shoulders even though I'd had it tailored to his size years ago. Maybe he was madder than I thought he'd be.

I bit my lip. I should have figured, should have been more careful. I had one fucking hp. What would happen to him if I... died? I couldn't leave him, especially for a reason so stupid as freezing to death after gettin' too close to the Whimsum nest, which I knew was nearby. How could I have been so god damn stupid! My fist connected with the door frame, not hard enough to lower my health, but enough to send a small pang through my hand. 

"paps-" Swinging the door open the rest of the way, I started forward, the floorboards creaking under my feet. Instantly, Papyrus whipped around, a small yelp leaving him as the bowl in his hands dropped and shattered against the floor, soup splashing back up onto his suit pants.

"SANS?!" He sounded... caught. Guilty.

Guess that makes two of us.

There was a long, awkward silence that felt wrong between us. Then, still blinking in shock, my signature lazy smile overcame my face as I snorted. "guess i made quite the _smashing_ entrance, huh bro?" His eyes widened before he groaned, bringing a hand up to his face.

"SANS, YOU CANNOT DO THAT! YOU STARTLED ME."

"i must've really _rattled_ you then, cause typically nothing scares my big bad bro."

He flushed blue, eyes lighting up indignantly. "I NEVER SAID YOU SCARED ME! I SIMPLY DID NOT SEE YOU. I THOUGHT YOU WERE SLEEPING." I narrowed my eyes just a tad, raising an eyebrow.

"you hidin' somethin' from me, bro? and what's with the soup? thought you didn't like to eat in your room." I moved forward a bit, searching his face as suspicion flared in my chest.

Papyrus didn't reply, glancing at the floor, then his bedroom door, then at me once again. "I SIMPLY WANTED TO... RELAX IN MY BED."

"paps, you've never done that, even when you were a baby bones."

"WELL, BROTHER, THINGS CHANGE. I'M TIRED FROM ALL MY INCOGNITO MISSIONS I HAVE PERFORMED TODAY."

I smirked, "i know bro, but you've been tired before. you like the couch more than your room."

"YES... YES, I HAVE. AND I DO. BUT WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE IF I EAT IN MY ROOM OR NOT?" I frowned on the inside. What was he up to? He was never able to lie to me or lead me on. He seemed to always develop this... shame face where his eyes wouldn't meet mine for more than a minute and his smile would be tugging down at the edges.

"alright... you have a point. but paps, i wanted to talk to you about today, so could i eat with you? i'll even go down and make my own bowl and-"

"NO!" I jerked at his yell, eyes widening as my smile actually fell a little. Papyrus looked shocked as well, face falling as he took a step toward me, but I was already pushing past him.

"BROTHER?!"

"sorry papyrus, but i know you're hidin' somethin'."

"SANS NO! OKAY, WE CAN HAVE DINNER DOWNSTAIRS! JUST-" Shoving past Pap's outstretched arms, I opened his door, eyes widening as I spotted the reason he didn't want me in his room.

The human was curled up in his bed, soft mumbles leaving her lips as she rolled onto her back, eyes closed. Fear and anger pooled in my gut, but I turned to stare at Papyrus, who was standing sheepishly behind me. Vivid nightmares of what could have happened flashed through my mind, making my fingers shake. He couldn't know. I wouldn't let him know. I wouldn't let anything hurt him. If he realized there was a human in his bed… he’d try and take them to Undyne. The human would… Red flashed across my vision and I fought to steady my voice as I spoke again.

"paps, why didn't you tell me... you know what i've said about strangers."

"WELL SHE SEEMED AS HURT AS YOU WERE AND SHE HAD BEEN CARRYING YOU A LONG WAY... I COULDN'T JUST LEAVE HER IN THE SNOW." He crossed his arms, suddenly stubborn.

Wait what? She was the one who had been carrying me? But... why? How?

Shaking my head, my eye started to glow as my voice went slightly up an octave. It didn't matter. She couldn't be here. "but papyrus, you don't know what she's like-"

"ALL I NEED TO KNOW IS THAT SHE WAS SAVING YOU FROM..." His voice cracked and a pang went through my chest. "SHE SAVED YOU. YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL SHE DID."

I spread my hands out in front of me, pleadingly, "papyrus, i... i understand you worrying about me, but you didn't know if she would hurt you or not. you shouldn't let people near you that you don't know."

"Sans." I paused as he dropped to his knees in front of me, gloved hands gripping my arms. He never ever used a serious tone like that. "I don't know why you're so against her being here, but you need to trust me. I need you to listen to _me_ for once." I tried to meet his eyes but found myself unable.

"papyrus... i do listen to you, i just... i want you to be careful."

"And I want you to be careful as well, but it doesn't seem like that crossed your mind when you teleported away from me today." I flinched, closing my eyes as I bowed my head.

"it's not like that paps. you know i would never-"

"Avoid me? Not speak to me? Because Sans, that's all you've been doing lately. I don't know why, " he held up a hand to stop me as I started to open my mouth, "and I'm not mad, but I need you to understand that I know for a fact that this girl," he gestured to the sleeping human, "is not as bad as you may think. I don’t understand why you’re hiding from me, but I need to show you that you don’t have to."

"but..." There had to be some way to convince him without letting on to what the human was. If I didn’t get her away from him…

"No buts brother. Now," he leaned up and put his teeth against my forehead in a skeleton kiss, "I'm going to go get us some more soup and clean up this mess. Please watch the girl and make sure she stays comfortable." I didn't move or acknowledge him as my mind went to other... options on how to get him away from her. She couldn't stay here. But it seemed as if Papyrus had guessed my intentions. "And Sans, you better still be here when I get back, or..." His voice became strained at the end and I looked up at him, eyes worried and narrowed.

"Or I won't be here whenever you return." Fear blossomed in my chest and I could only make a small whimpering noise as he turned away and made his way downstairs, glancing back at me only once. "You'll see brother, she's a good person." 

I was frozen until he was out of sight, knee bones shaking. He definitely won that argument. There was no way... no way I'd leave now. I needed him here. I couldn't lose him too. In all the times we'd had fights, he'd never threatened to leave before. Not once. Part of me actually didn't believe him, but there was no way I was going to test him. He was my brother... and I guess I was going to have to do as he said and... trust his judgment. If only he was able to realize this was a human, he might change his mind. Knowing Paps, though, he would still say the same thing. He would insist and insist until it got him killed.

So, I'm just going to have to stand here and keep my eyes open more than I usually do. Screw being a lazybones. For Pap... I'd do anything so long as I didn't lose him.

Heading over to sit beside the human on the bed, I brought a hesitant hand up to touch her face, feeling the fever before I even touched her.

I'd do anything, even if it meant taking care of a murdering human in my very home. I would just have to wait until she decided to leave the house. Then I could finish our journey and everything would go back to normal, with a new home on the surface waiting for us.

 


	19. My Name Is Frisk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk's POV.
> 
> The younger brother and true safety. 
> 
> Thanks for being patient! I'm getting really close to finishing my book and the last chapter was quite the ordeal. I have one more chapter till I am done with the first manuscript! I'm so excited!!

_It was so dark... but it also wasn't. There were these flashing lights; bright white lights that would blind me for long moments at a time and leave floating black spots in my vision. It would only last for a few seconds before everything would be blotted out again.  
_

_And while the lights weren't constant, the sirens were. Loud and insistent. Ear piercing. It felt like my head was going to crack open, the pressure intense and pounding, almost as if someone had taken a drill to the inside of my skull. I could feel my hands scratching at my face, switching between where my ears should have been and my eyes._

_"daddy?!" My voice was small and it echoed around me eerily, mixing with the blaring noise from above. The sound of footsteps came rushing toward me and I felt my arms move on their own, stretching out in front of me pleadingly. Asking for my father's loving arms. They only ran right past me.  
_

_Tears dripped from my eyes, glowing purple in the darkness as I let out a panicked scream. What was going on? Where was daddy? I wanted my daddy..._

_My hands found a wall and I slid down it, burying my face in my legs as I wiped at my eyes. I kept calling for him, to the point my throat was sore and my words raspy. But no one came.  
_

_And chaos continued to rule, the entire world shaking and turning beneath my feet._

*********

My eyes shot open, hands grasping at whatever they could find, soft sheets bunching up under the strain of my fingers. Hands grabbed my shoulders, holding me down as I squirmed, breathing becoming just like it had been in the dream. For a minute, I thought the ground was still shaking, my vision swimming in and out of focus as my head swung back and forth frantically.

"PLEASE! HOLD STILL! YOU'LL HURT YOURSELF." The voice was insistent, worried, and the volume of it startled me. I lashed out before I could stop myself, hands connecting with something hard and sturdy. The person above me yelped and the grip on my arms tightened, but I wasn't able to do it again, muscles freezing and locking up. I whimpered, only able to twitch as I heard someone gasp.

"SANS! STOP THAT NOW! SHE'S SICK!" _Sans...?_ _Sans was here? Which meant..._ I slowly regained control of my body, the invisible force releasing me with obvious hesitation. I barely noticed, my still clearing eyes making out the figure above me. My heart swelled at the familiar face. He looked so much like Sans, but with a thinner face and slim eye sockets. The main difference had to be the kindness which decorated his features. I may have only seen him as a child, but it wasn't that hard to recognize him. Skeletons, you would think, should look pretty similar, but they really don't.

My hands rose shakily, which made my forehead crease. I felt so weak, so hot, but right now that didn't matter. **"Papyrus...?"**

"SHE KNOWS MY NAME?!" I flinched at his voice. God, he really was loud, wasn't he? But... he sounded so excited. So childish. It brought a watery smile to my face.

"bro, maybe you should be a bit quieter." I jumped at the proximity of Sans' voice; the strength of it. It was so close. My head fell to the side limply, eyes searching for him on instinct. Ignoring the dizziness that came with the swift motion, I realized I didn't have to look far.

Sans sat in a wooden chair, legs crossed and arms resting across his chest. His eyes met mine and I would've had to be blind to not see the clear threat in his stare. **Do Not Speak. To Him. Again.** There was no sign of the frail skeleton I had carried through the snow and he may have been acting lazy, but despite his attempts to conceal his nervousness, I had no problem seeing past his front.

I guess that's why I was never good at listening. My past proved I couldn't even do that much, but reading the mood was one of my strong points, and I knew I could get by with paying his warning no mind.

Papyrus continued on like our little exchange hadn't happened, feeling my forehead with a cold, boney hand as he rushed through his words, but this time much quieter than the last, "Oh, you're completely right Sans! And she's still so hot! I'm so sorry-" He cut himself off, sucking in a deep breath. Drawing my gaze away from Sans, I turned back to the younger skeleton in expectation. Papyrus instantly seemed embarrassed, a blue tint coming to his cheeks.

"I'm afraid I do not know your name." My eyes widened and I paused in every meaning of the word. The fire in Sans' stare intensified, the hair on my arms standing on end in response. I didn't know whether I should tell him anything, but... Somehow, I knew Papyrus wouldn't hurt me. Sans, though, he was the one I was worried about. However, there was something else I believed to be common knowledge. I learned a lot about him from our shared memories.

Sans would never hurt me in front of his brother. I'm not saying that he wouldn't protect Papyrus until the end if I tried to attack him, but I would never lay a hand on the sweet skeleton anyway, so there was no reason for Sans to worry or harm me in any way.

And so I answered, **"My name is Frisk."  
**

"Frisk! I like your name! It is very pretty! I am the amazing, secretive, and brilliant Papyrus! But uh... you knew that, didn't you?" He chuckled and grabbed my hand, shaking it gently before he carefully laid it back down. I offered a small grin and he did the same back, but it obviously had more strength. "Sans, can you go downstairs and get the soup?" I almost instantly perked up at the word soup. Despite the rolling in my stomach, I could tell how hungry I was.

"but paps... what happened to the soup you brought up earlier?"

"Shut up Sans! I don't know what you're talking about!"

"oh really?"

"Really!"

"you ate it didn't you?" Papyrus' face flushed an even darker shade of blue as his sockets widened before he huffed and crossed his arms.

"No! I would never! I took a bite to taste test it! And then it was gone."

"so... you ate it."

"No. I tasted it."

"right~" I tried to hold them back but I started to giggle, shoulders shaking. Papyrus and Sans both stopped their little argument to stare at me, and I started to cover my mouth, looking away nervously. 

**"Sorry..."**

But Papyrus only beamed at me, a smile that could've brightened any day despite the darkest of clouds. "It's perfectly fine! I'm glad you seem to be doing better! And I've been meaning to thank you!"

I tilted my head to the side, eyebrows drawing together, **"Thank me?"**

"Yes! Thank you! For helping my brother! He can take such risks sometimes! He would have frozen if not for you!"

I felt my cheeks heat up a bit as I blinked at him in surprise and shock. I... saved Sans? The object of my thoughts fell into view as I glanced at him. Sans met my eyes for a long moment and I saw nothing; he was completely guarded. My face fell a bit, but then he nodded. A single, but definite bow of the head.

My eyes widened and he turned away, getting to his feet. "sure bro, i'll get that soup. And don't worry hu- Frisk. It's _souperb_." A smile decorated my face slowly, cheeks heating up just a bit. He actually called me by my name. My _name_.

"Thank you, brother! I'll even let that pun go for the moment since you're being so helpful! I'll stay and watch over Frisk."

"you got it bro." He didn't say anything else as he slipped out the door and Papyrus sat down in his chair, his hand going to rest gently on my arm.

"I'm glad you seem to be feeling better Frisk. When you first came here, you were running quite the temperature. I was quite worried." My grin strengthened, my hand going to rest on top of his before I started to sign again.

 **"Thank you, Papyrus. For everything."** I would have been lying if I said I wasn't confused. How could someone who had never met me before worry about me?

"You are very welcome, young one! Now, when Sans gets back, you can have some of my wonderful soup and rest up! Sicknesses are no joke! They can turn you to dust very easily, so you have to get better as soon as possible." His face was completely open and hopeful, sending a pleasure filled jolt through my heart. I relaxed almost instantly, the pillow and blankets feeling ten times better than before. I had never, in all my life, thought I could actually feel safe, but Papyrus was proving me wrong with every word he spoke.

Without even realizing what I was doing, one of my hands hesitantly rose to touch his cheek. He blinked in that skeleton way of his before his features softened and his larger hand wrapped around mine.

I didn't know why I trusted him so much. Why I felt no need to pull away from him or fear him. The feelings in my chest were so strong, though, that I knew they couldn't have been lying. Papyrus was someone I could rely on, no matter what.

That knowledge filled me with determination. 


	20. A Week of Sickly Endeavors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans' POV.
> 
> Adventures with the ill. I was going to do a full seven days but these were the only important things that came to mind. The first story is from the first day of her REALLY being sick. The second story is toward the fourth or fifth day in which she's on the edge of her sickness, and the last story is toward the last day.

The human slept for almost a week, their illness taking a turn for the worse before it even had the chance to get better. It was almost freaky how much fluid the girl could produce, her body rejecting all of the food we brought her in what she called vomiting. The first time it happened Paps came very _very_ close to blowing a casket, and to be fair, so did I. It was honestly scary as hell, the way her form spasmed and twitched after pouring out her stomach contents, leaving her a panting, tearful mess. We couldn't even do anything to help, just standing there wide eyed as she calmed down. Paps had been the first to act, bending over to stroke her back and pull her sticky hair out of her face. She had tried to push him away, shaking hands demanding that it was nasty and that she just needed some water to get cleaned up. 

Without thinking, I teleported to get what she had asked for, fear twisting in my non-existent gut. Humans were so... gross and weird. How could they put up with such bodily functions was a mystery to me, but I remember being so afraid that I'd come back to find her dead in Papyrus' arms. How would we ever get out of here if she died?

I found a bucket and a clean cloth, one Paps had left out for cleaning but never used. I couldn't really think of what else she might need, considering I'd never taken care of a human before, so I just teleported back, making both her and Papyrus jump at my sudden appearance. My brother glared at me before he noticed the objects in my hands, his tense frown softening just a bit before he took and dipped the cloth into the water, ringing it out before gently mopping at the human's face, hands, and throat. She weakly struggled for a few moments before falling still, her eyelids falling shut as she whimpered. She looked so small at that moment, so fragile.

"Brother?" I nearly jerked at the sound of Papyrus' voice, my eyes flicking to him from where they had been resting on the human's face. Fighting to bring back my normal grin, I tried to put on some act so Paps wouldn't worry.

"yeah, bro?" He seemed to see right through me, his gaze intense and filled with unimaginable uncertainty as he brought his hand to the girl's head. I saw his features tighten once more.

"What do we do?" The timid words sent pain straight to my soul and I kneeled down, putting a hand on Papyrus' shoulder before it dropped to Frisk's head. The sweltering heat that greeted me made me yank my arm back just slightly, and I heard her moan, agony very evident in the way she winced and shifted.

I took in her face, the way sweat made shiny paths on her skin and the muscles in her jaw clenched when she ground her teeth together. Finally drawing my eyes away, I met Pap's gaze. "I don't know."

He looked as if he were going to cry, his eye lights growing smaller before he glanced back down at the shivering bundle in his hold, a careful hand brushing hair out of her face. Then, ever so slowly, he got to his feet and walked back toward his bed, laying her down and continuing to wash her down, avoiding the areas in which he'd have to remove her clothes. The entire time, his face was so soft, as if he were trying to will her better through sheer mental power alone. Seeing him so serious about something... It made something click in my chest. The next thing I knew, I was holding a cool cloth to her face, wiping away the tears and sweat. I could feel Papyrus watching me for a while before he smiled, a genuine but tight grin, and I felt a hand on my head.

"Thank you, brother." I merely grunted, trying to not let pride flow to my soul at his praise. Typically, he would call me lazy or something similar because... well... I was in many ways. He didn't know about everything I did. Everything I had done. And recently, barely restrained tension had started to create a rift between us, despite my best attempts to stop it. We had both seemed to be to different. He, too kind. I, to secretive. I had only ever wanted to protect him and give him the life he deserved, but here I was, letting him unknowingly take care of a human girl. Granted, I truly was starting to believe she wasn't as dangerous as the others who had fallen. Especially the one who had brought the gun with him. 

But after seeing her life, at least parts of it, I could say that there was just something about her that didn't seem right. At the moment, though, all I knew was that Paps was happy to have me around again. It almost felt like we were bonding over this strange girl. Too soon, her face relaxed, even with the small tremors that still wracked her body. My hand had just dipped back into the bucket, mind wandering, when I heard Papyrus sigh in relief and he patted my back. "Please watch her while I go and get some new water. This probably isn't going to help her." Nodding, I wondered just when the water we'd been using had gotten so warm and why I hadn't noticed, but with Paps scampering from the room I felt lonelier than ever with the sudden loss of the comfortable silence.

"damn it..." Pulling back, I put my head in my hands, squeezing my eye sockets closed. "what am i doing...?" A response came in the form of a weak, watery cough, the sound echoing around the quiet room eerily. Peeking out from between my fingers at the girl, I watched as her head jerked to the side with a sudden spasm. Feeling disgruntled at the sight, I reached out and touched the human's face, guiding her face back to where I could see it. At my touch, though, she pressed into my hand, whimpering again as she practically nuzzled my palm. I froze, staring at her as my eyes widened, unable to pull my hand away as... something... swelled in my chest, pounding away at the barrier in my soul and mind, pushing me to reach out to her through our link.

Purple swirled around the room, my eye glowing as I drew out her soul, the red-violet heart pulsing lightly despite its faded appearance. Hesitantly, I focused on the warmth that all monsters carried inside, letting the heat spread into my arm, then hand, then palm, a wispy violet mist going to encircle the girl's soul. It seemed to flinch back, the human's body performing the same action, before it settled down, the fog gently soothing the strained being. Immediately, the soul showed signs of brightening, the heart drifting back into Frisk's chest. 

It took me a second to find the strength and the urge to pull my arm back, folding under me so I could lay my head on the bed. I simply stared at the kid's face, watching the soft twitches of her features. The way her lips moved as if they were whispering a secret to another. The way her nose would scrunch up like they'd smelled something unpleasant. Her eyebrows drew together in the same way they would if she were thinking about something really hard. 

What was so special about _this_ human? What made Pap like _her_ so much? She was small and timid, and nervous. She reminded me of... well... me with how secretive she was, and Paps was always saying that he hated secrets. If it wasn't for our connection, I'm sure even I wouldn't know anything about Frisk.

*****

I was carrying in a little bowl of soup, debating whether Paps idea of offering her even a little bit of food was a good idea. We had cleaned up her vomit far too many times already. Yet, when I opened the door, she was sitting up, staring at a book in her lap with the most fascination I had ever seen on anyone's face before, and that's saying something when I had seen Papyrus' reaction to his first taste of scrambled eggs. Man, did that guy love his eggs.

But, getting back to the point, the girl was completely absorbed in whatever the hell she was looking at. So much so, that I managed to enter the room and quietly shut the door without her knowing. That was the point where I knew I could get by with scaring her a bit, because typically, even if she were asleep, she'd be snapped awake by the simple sound of the squeaking door hinges. There was a part of me that knew that was a bad idea, though, my mind changing when Frisk let out a cough that even had me wincing. She, however, didn't seem bothered for long, removing her hand from her lips just to return to the novel.

Stepping forward, I decided to brush against the book shelf, Papyrus' figurines clacking together loudly in the silence, announcing my presence. The girl almost tumbled off the bed with how far she jumped, and I couldn't help but chuckle low in my throat as she turned to stare at me with doe-like eyes. "seems you really like that book, huh? didn't even hear me comin'. Paps would've been so proud of me."

Frisk actually seemed more embarrassed than timid when she gently closed the book with more care than really necessary, her small fingers depositing the book on the side table as she signed to me.  **"Sorry... I got bored."**

Shrugging, I walked over and placed the bowl next to the thickly bound novel, catching sight of the title as I did. The History of the Underground and Its Inhabitants. "what, kid, you curious about us monsters?" I felt one of my 'eyebrows' raise as she started to move her hands animatedly, shocked at her enthusiasm. I had never seen anyone so excited over a story before, the human's face lit up with a huge smile that almost felt wrong to see on her face. All she had ever done before was frown, at least most of the time.

 **"On the surface, the human books talked about humans and how right they were to lock the monsters underground but I had always wanted to know what your side of the story was. Why did the war happen? Could it have been avoided? Why were the humans so afraid of your magic when it could've been so useful to work together instead?"** Sitting down on the edge of the bed, I smirked at all the questions, not intending to answer a single one. It wasn't like I had actually been a part of the war anyway. She hadn't been either, so I could actually understand her curiosity, but I knew at least why we were trapped down here.

Because humans can't accept what doesn't look or act like them.

"well, then, i guess there's no _tome_ like the present to learn, huh?" The giggles she released made my eyes dart over to her in surprise. That honestly wasn't even that funny, but that didn't mean it didn't feel nice to have my puns be appreciated for a change. This was... somewhat of a pleasant transformation from her usual behavior. "seriously kid, reading a book like that is _bound_ to teach ya somethin'. though, i think i have a book somewhere around here about anti-gravity. if you want somethin' good to read, then try that. it's impossible to put down." She released several more bursts of laughter, which made my soul swell slightly with pride. 

That all came to an end when she started hacking again, her eyes going wide before they clenched shut, her arm going to cover her mouth once more. My hand reached out to rub her back, but just before I touched her I stopped, my face pulling tightly into a frown. What was I doing?

It took her a while to calm down, but when she finally calmed and wiped at her face, I held out a glass of water for her to take, grunting a quiet demand at her, "here kid, drink." She took the glass with shaky hands, not meeting my eyes as I watched her take a sip. Only after she had placed the water back on the side table and settled back into the bed and blankets did she speak again.

**"Thank you."**

"don't mention it. paps made you some soup, so you better eat a bit of it. don't wanna hurt his feelings." I turned away from her and got to my feet, barely catching her hum of acknowledgment before I had shut the door behind me.

*****

"FRISK! HOW ARE YOU FEELING TODAY?" Pap's shouts were what woke me from my wonderful sleep on the couch, a soft groan leaving my lips as I pushed myself up from my precarious position of hanging halfway off the cushions. I really needed to find a way to stop all of the moving I did in my sleep.

"OF COURSE I AM FINE, BUT WE ARE DISCUSSING YOUR HEALTH RIGHT NOW!" God, why was Papyrus screaming so loud in the morning? What was time was it now? I glanced with a grimace toward the clock that hung above the kitchen door, rubbing at my eye sockets. Oh... it was almost two in the evening.

"geez... no more soy sauce before bed... or fruit snacks... not a good mix." Continuing to grumble, I headed up the stairs, practically dragging my feet to the point where I probably should have tripped over the rug of something. I went straight for Pap's bedroom, not bothering to knock as I swung open the door. Both the people inside jumped, Frisk watching me warily whilst Paps turned to me with a large smile on his face.

"SANS! IT IS TIME FRISK LEAVES THIS ROOM! MAYBE, TO GET BETTER, ALL SHE NEEDS IS TO GET OUT OF HERE!" My stomach, if I had one, would've dropped.

"paps, bro, i don't think it's a good idea to take the kid outside-"

"WHOEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT GOING OUTSIDE?! WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A MOVIE NIGHT!" I almost completely slumped over as I let out a huge internal sigh, swallowing hard before I found my voice again, the momentary panic over.

"o-oh, um... that's a great idea paps. don't know why we didn't think of it sooner."

"RIGHT!? NOW, CAN YOU GO AND PULL OUT THE BOND MOVIES WHILST I GET OUR FRIEND COMFORTABLE ON THE COUCH AND START BUILDING THE NEST?" _Right... friend._

I didn't argue, not wanting to fight with Papyrus when we'd be getting along so well. "sure paps." With a triumphant yell, Papyrus rushed to lift Frisk, who yelped at the sudden action which undoubtedly stirred up her stomach. Together, they disappeared from the room and I couldn't help but jump back onto the bed Frisk had vacated, laying there and staring at the ceiling. _Guess that's it for my relaxing afternoon sleep... But maybe I can catch up during the movies. As long as Papyrus doesn't notice._

With that hopeful thought in mind, I pushed myself up and made my way from the room, heading toward the tv and the sets of movies that were stuffed into boxes nearby. I went to the one whose cardboard was peeling and dented with use, the words **James Bond** sprawling across each of the cases spines. I pulled out the first three, knowing it would be a miracle if Paps made it through the first one without wanting to go out and practice his spy moves in the backyard.

Chuckling at the thought, I glanced behind me as I heard the loud exclamations from the kitchen, accompanied by small giggles and the sounds of banging pots and pans. What did Papyrus need with such things to make popcorn, I'd never know, but as I floated some blankets down from my bedroom and started laying them out on the floor the familiar smell hit me and I smiled. There was nothing better than some good, buttery popcorn for a rough morning awakening.

"SANS, YOU BETTER NOT START IT WITHOUT US!"

"i would never, bro."

"RIGHT. I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!" Grin widening, I went to sprawl out on the couch just as the other two re-entered the room, a large bowl of yellow clasped in Paps gloved hands. He had apparently changed outfits since the last time I'd seen him, going from his t-shirt and sweat pants to the signature black suit and neon green tie. The sight confirmed the thoughts I'd had of him wanting to show off to his new 'buddy' and he pretty much sauntered the whole time he sat Frisk down on the blankets and turned to go and put the movie in. I snorted softly, shaking my head as I turned off most of the lights with a flash of purple magic, leaving on the one above the stairs to give Paps plenty of light to do his thing.

"ALRIGHT FRISK! BE PREPARED FOR THE MOST EXTREME MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE! THESE ARE THE BEST MOVIES IN THE ENTIRE UNDERGROUND!" I imagined Frisk smiling timidly up at my brother as she signed something in return.

"OF COURSE! I WOULD BE HONORED TO!" I felt the couch shift a bit as Paps laid his head back against the cushions where I had placed most of my body, taking a spot next to Frisk. I observed, uninterested, as Papyrus wrapped a cover around the kid's shoulders, keeping their still slightly feverish body warm and asking them if they needed anything before the movie started. She shook her head, and as the title came up on screen Papyrus actually remained silent through most of the scenes, completely enraptured like the first time he'd watched them. It wasn't until the beginning fight that he got back to his feet, drawing a surprised whine from Frisk, who had made herself comfortable leaning against my brother's shoulder.

"DON'T WORRY FRISK! I WILL REJOIN YOU IN A MOMENT. I MUST TRAIN FIRST!" With that, just as Bond threw the first punch on screen, Papyrus did the same, in the exact same fashion and just as fast. He copied every move Bond made, all from memory, and his technique was honestly perfect. This wasn't one of those 'he's my brother so I have to believe that' moments. He did every single move perfectly, with practiced ease and efficiency, even firing fake guns every once in a while. I glanced at Frisk with a lazy but proud grin, taking in her amazed expression. Her eyes were almost literally shining, and when the final punch was thrown she clapped loudly, one of the first things I'd seen her do that would attract attention to herself.

Paps started to blush at her otherwise silent praise, cheeks glowing blue as he reclaimed his seat and allowed Frisk to settle back against him. "I'M GLAD YOU WERE IMPRESSED FRISK. THAT IS ONE OF MY MANY TRAINING SESSIONS. I WILL HAVE TO DO ANOTHER SOON, IF YOU DON'T MIND." But she just shook her head, sickness forgotten for the moment in her excitement to see Paps do his tricks again.

I just had to join the conversation, "hey paps, i have a question for ya."

He turned so that he could look me in the eyes, a curious tilt to his head, "YES BROTHER?"

"what do you call james bond in the bathtub?" He knew what was coming and the stare he gave me could've peeled paint but I held strong, a playful twist to my teeth.

"SANS... DO NOT DO WHAT I KNOW YOU WANT TO DO."

"bubble 07."

"SANS!"

Frisk laughed quietly, Papyrus turning to her with obviously faked betrayal in his eyes. This only made her giggles increase, which then turned into coughs, which made Paps go from scolding to concerned spy with a strained straight face. I couldn't help but laugh.  

 

       


End file.
